MASTER  NEGA  TIVE 

NO.  93-81340- 


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A  UTHOR: 


SMITH,  JAMES 


WH 


ATON 


TITLE: 


HE  LIFE  OF  JOHN 


RO 


K^tv       I,';-. 


ER 


PLACE: 


PHILADELPHIA 


DA  TE: 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

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Master  Negative  # 

^3rlJ3^025_ 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


938.5 
C886 


Smith,  J         T/heaton. 

The  life  of  John  P,  Crozer,  Philadelphia, 
American  Baptist  publication  society  c1868d 

264  p.  front,  (port,)  plates. 


I,  Crozer,  John  Price,  1793-1866. 


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TO    HER 


WHO  LOVED  HIM   IN   HIS  YOUTH, 


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WHOSE    BRAVE    HEART    CHEERED    HIM    IN    HIS 

EARLY  STRUGGLES, 

WHO,  IN  HIS  HOUSEHOLD,  BORE  THE  SACRED  NAME  OF 

WI  FE, 


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Entered  according  to   Act  of  Congress,   in   the  year  1808,  by 

AAIERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 

In   the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  tlie  United  Slates  for  the  Eafetern 

District  of  Pennsylvania, 


THIS  STORY  OF  HIS  LIFE  IS  AFFECTIOX.^TELY 
IXSCRIBED   BY  HER   FRIEXD, 

THE   AUTHOR. 


Westcott   k   Thombox, 
Stereotypers,  Philada. 


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THE 


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Life  or  John  P.  Crozer. 


BY 


J.  WHEATOX  SMITH,  D.D. 


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AMERICAN* •BAPT^sr*Pem.!C•AtIb^'  'SOCIETY, 
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CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 


BIRTH-PLACE. 


PAGE 


The  old  Mansion  in  Springfield— Its  little  Nursery— Benjamin 
West— His  First  Effort  in  Art— His  early  Studies— The  Nur- 
sery has  a  new  Occupant— The  Artist  and  the  Philanthropist...     13 


CHAPTER  II. 


PARENTAGE. 


Immigration  of  Four  Brothers— Mr.  Crozer's  Paternal  Grandfather 
—The  Grandfather's  Marriage— His  Maternal  Grandfather- 
Hi?  Father  and  Mother j^ 

CHAPTER   III. 
BROTH p:rs  and  sisteus. 

His  two  Sisters— His  two  Brothers— .James  the  Elder  Brother- 
Samuel,  the  Younger— His  Mechanical  Genius— Love  of  Study 
—Goes  to  Africa  on  a  Philanthropic  Missiion— Early  Death- 
Origin  of  Mr.  Crozer's  Concern  for  the  African  Race 20 


CHAPTER   IV. 
CHILDHOOD    AND    YOUTH. 

The  Paternal  Farm— Early  Recollections— The  Stone  School-house 
—Master  Taylor— Master  Doane— The  Mystery  of  "Carrying" 
—Master  Pardee— Improvement  in  Teaching  s|.nce  that  Day— 


6 


CONTENTS. 


PACE 


Religious  Influences — The  Society  of  Friends — The  Lord's  Day 
— A  Mother's  Teaching  and  Influence — Dr.  Staughton — A 
Funeral  Sermon  in  the  Country — Wayside  Efforts  often  the 
most  largely  Blessed — Baptism  of  Mr.  Crozer  and  his  Sister — 
Mental  Improvement — The  Pennock  Family 24 


CHAPTER  V. 


I.TFE    AS    A    FARMER. 


His  Father's  Farm — Scanty  Help — "  Small  Business" — Conies  of 
Age — Death  of  his  Father  and  Mother — Alone  in  the  Home- 
stead— Poor  Prospects — Vain  Planning — Interesting  Letter 34 


CHAPTER  VT. 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  WEST. 

Personal  Appearance — His  Black  Mare — Shaker  Settlement — Cin- 
cinnati— Valley  of  the  Wabash — New  Harmony — Robert  Dale 
Owen — Visit  to  Kentucky — Journey  Home — Sale  of  the  Home- 
Stead 41 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ESTABLISHMENT  IN  BUSINESS. 

Grain  and  Saw  Mill — Disappointment — Begins  to  Spin  Cotton — 
More  Disappointment — Commences  Weaving — It  does  not 
Pay — Rigid  Economy — Ready  to  give  up — A  Timely  Loan — 
Success  at  last 50 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

i:OME  AT  WEST  BRANCH. 

Slow  and  steady  Progress — Purchases  a  Mill  at  West  Branch — 
Marriage — Commences  Housekeeping — Accumulates  by  Saving 
— Care  for  his  Operatives — His  First-born  Son — Builds  a 
School-house — Serious  Loss — Begins  to  Weave — Purchases 
another  Mill — Removal  of  his  Home 61 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


HOME  AT  CROZERVILLE. 


PAGE 


Increased  Spiritual  Life— Diary  Commenced— A  Strike  and  its  Re- 
sults—Temperance Cause— Help  for  Workmen— Severe  Acci- 
dent— Long  Confinement — A  Flood — Loss  of  a  large  Fortune 
— Press  of  Work 72 

CHAPTER  X. 
HOME    AT    UPLAND. 

Original  name   of   Chester— Change  by  William   Penn— Care  for 
Ministers — Tour  in   Pennsylvania — Thanksgiving  Day — Jus- 
tice   to   his   own   Denomination — Opinion   of   Ofl5ce-seeking — 
Building  of  House  of  AVorship  at  Upland— Opening  of  House 
of  Worship— Death  of  a  Daughter— Joy  from  Sorrow— Church 
Organized— University  at  Lewisburg— Donation  of  Dr.  David 
Jayne,   Mr.  Bucknell  and   Mr.   Crozer— Liberal  off'er  to  Uni- 
versity—Large  Expenditures— Singing   in    Public   Worship- 
In  the  Sunday-school — As  a  Worshiper — Xormal  School — Cor- 
respondence with  Dr.  Wayland — Disappointment  in  the  School 
— Ministerial  Education — Sunday-school  Library  Fund — Bap- 
tism of  a  Son — Death  of  Mr.  James  M.  Linnard — Early  rising 
— In  the  Church — Chosen  Deacon — In  Prayer-meetings- Love 
for    his    Mother — Ministers'    Library    Fund — Endowment    of 
University  —  Adieu    to    Christian     Commission  —  Remarkable 
Birthday  Record ]28 

CHAPTER   XI. 


LIFE    AT    ITS    CLOSE. 

Opening  of  his  Seventy-fourth  Year— His  Continued  Growth- 
Estimate  of  his  Character — His  Business  Capacity — His  Tastes 
— His  Love  of  Books — A  man  of  Education — Diff'crence  be- 
tween Learning  and  Education  —  William  Pitt  and  Adam 
Smith — Education    by  Business   and   by  Books — Decision    of 

Character — The  Idea  of  Stewardship — "  Habits  of  Virtue" 

A  Christian  Man — Love  for  Christ  the  Inspiration  of  his  Life 
— Manliness  and  Godliness — Concern  for  Frecdmen — Proposed 
Tour  through  the  South— Illness — Returns  from  Petersburg — 


«5Sr«.      -  ?«<■;* 


8 


CONTESTS. 


PAGE 


Tour  of  Dr.  Griffith  and  the  Author— Summoned  Home  from 
Memphis— Dangerous  Illness  of  Mr.  Crozer— On  a  Dying  Bed 

Looking  to  the   Great   Physician— Letters  to  Messrs.  J.  S. 

Newbold  and  Geo.  H.  Stuart— Charge  to  his  Family— "Jesus 
is  my  All"— "Work  for  Jesus"— "  No  anxiety— No  affright"— 
Prayer  for  his  Family— His  last  Song— The  final  Response— 
At  Rest 213 

CHAPTER  XII. 
"and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

The  Funeral— Honors  tu  his  Memory— Extract  from  Will— Tributes 
of  Regard — Crozer  Memorial  Fund — Acceptance  of  the  Trust 
—Prayer  by  Dr.  B.  T.  Welch— Report  by  Dr.  S.  L.  Caldwell— 
Crozer  Theological  Seminary— The  First  Suggestion— Hesita- 
tion— Resolutions  by  Ministers  in  Philadelphia — Hesitancy 
gone — Decision  of  his  Family — Endowment — Charter  Obtained 
— Institution  Organized — His  Largest  Work 238 


PREFACE. 


nOON  after  the  death  of  the  late  John  P. 
^    Crozer,   a    desire   for    some    history   of 
his  life  was  quite  generally  expressed.     His 
family,    therefore,    took    counsel    with    their 
friends,  and  modestly  shrank  from  any  pub- 
lication of  memoirs,  unless,  in  the  judgment 
of  others,  the  work   w^ould   be  a   means   of 
Christian  usefulness.     On  the  examination  of 
this  question,  his  friends  did  not  forget  that 
personal  friendship  and  affection  often  exag- 
gerate the  usefulness  and  magnify  the  virtues 
of  those  we  love,  and  often  give  prominence 
in  print  to  characters  of  only  ordinary  merit ; 
yet,  notwithstanding,  it  was  decided,  without  a 


10 


PREFACE. 


PREFACE. 


11 


question  or  a  doubt,  to  prepare  the  story  of 

his  life. 

His  papers  were  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  author  of  this  volume.  They  consisted 
of  a  few  letters,  of  a  narrative  containing  the 
incidents  of  his  early  life  as  recorded  by  him- 
self, and  two  thousand  one  liundred  and  thirty 
closely-written  ledger  pages  of  diary.  After 
reading  and  "  inwardly  digesting  "  this  mate- 
rial, the  importance  of  the  work  was  apparent. 
The  Diary,  written  for  no  eye  but  his  own, 
was  evidently  the  key  to  his  outward  life. 
With  that  outward  life,  during  its  more 
important  period,  the  author  had  been  per- 
sonally acquainted ;  he  was  now  permitted  to 
look  upon  its  secret  springs  and  study  its 
hidden  forces.  He  had  known  him  inti- 
mately and  loved  him  well,  but  now  records 
his  heartfelt  conviction  that  he  had  signally 
failed  to  appreciate  his  worth.  With  ample 
material  for  a  larger  volume,  the  smaller  size 
has  been  preferred,  with  the  purpose  of  secu- 


ring a  larger  circulation  and  a  more  extended 
usefulness  for  this  record  of  a  noble  Christian 
life. 

The   work   of  composition   has   been   per- 
formed in   the  heat  of  summer   and   in  the 
midst  of  other  work.     It  is  earnestly  desired 
that  no  fault  of  the  author  may  be  suffered  to 
mar  the  symmetry  of  a  life  of  singular  excel- 
lence and  beauty,  and  that  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian charity,  which  so  riclily  abounded  in  him, 
may  be  found  large  enough  to  cover— while 
it   cannot   conceal— the   imperfections   of  his 
biographer. 


ii  1 


Life  of  John  P.  Crozer 


CHAPTER    I. 


BIRTH-PLACE. 

TEX  miles  west  of  Philadelphia,  in  that  part  of 
Springfield  which  is  now  called  West  Dale,  in 
Delaware  Connty,  Pennsylvania,  there  stands  an  old 
but  still  substantial  dwelling.  It  is  a  square  stone 
structure,  whose  low  i)iazza,  small  windows,  and 
antique  roof  remind  you  of  the  olden  time.  Stand- 
ing apart  from  other  habitations,  and  partially  hid- 
den from  the  country  road  in  the  shadow  of  a  few 
old  trees,  it  has  an  air  of  quiet  seclusion  amount- 
ing almost  to  loneliness.  The  ground  which  rises 
geiitly  to  the  north  protects  it  from  the  colder  winds, 
while  southward  the  prospect  stretches  far  away 
to  hills  beyond  the  Delaware.  It  is  a  place  well 
suited  to  attract  attention.  The  stranger  stops  to 
ask  its  history — nor  does  he  stop  in  vain.  Strange 
memories  cluster  around  this  venerable  mansion.  It 
was  reared  amid  the  scenes  of  savage  life.  The  snows 
that  fell  upon  its  new-laid  roof  fell  also  on  the  wig- 

2  13 


i\ 


14 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CBOZFJE. 


warn  of  tlie  Indian.  Within  sight  of  its  eastern 
gable  a  little  town  that  nestled  in  the  bosom  of  the 
forest  has  grown  to  be  the  fourth  eity  of  the  civilized 
world.  A  race  has  vanished  since  its  walls  were 
built;  another  has  supplied  its  place;  and  now  from 
this  old  roof-tree  the  eye  may  sweej)  a  landscape  dotted 
with  fertile  fields,  with  hai)py  homes,  with  snowy  sails, 
and  note  the  wonders  which  an  era  of  eventful  pro- 
gress has  evoked.  And  yet  it  stands  unchanged— 
save  here  and  there  some  moss-grown  fissure  in  its 
solid  masonry — linking  the  hard  vicissitudes  of  an 
early  settlement  to  the  comforts  and  improvements  of 
modern  times;  at  once  a  monument  of  the  old,  a 
witness  of  the  new. 

Xor  is  it  remarkable  for  its  age  alone.  In  the 
attic,  under  that  old  gambrel,  was  produced  a  picture 
which  challenged  the  admiration  of  art  in  the  chief 
eity  of  Europe.  The  little  nursery  on  the  southwest* 
corner — there  where  a  woodbine  clings  above  the 
windows — gave  an  American  president  to  the  Roi'al 
Academy  of  England,  the  successor  of  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds, the  friend  and  companion  of  George  the  Third. 
It  is  the  birth-place  of  Benjamin  AVest,  the  famous 
American  painter.  Here,  when  a  boy  of  less  than 
seven  years  old,  he  sat  watching  the  slumbers  of  his 
Bister's  child ;  suddenly  a  smile  brightened  the  infant's 
*  Sometimes  stated  the  northwest. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P,  CEOZFJR. 


15 


face;    the  babe  slept   on,  but  the  genius  of  the  lad 
awoke.     Seizing  a  pen,  and  with  only  black  and  red 
ink  for  his  colors,  he  sketched  a  likeness  of  surpassing 
merit.     His  mother  found  him  at  his  task;  and,  sur- 
prised by  his  success,  exclaimed,  "I  declare,  he  has 
made  a  likeness  of  little  Sallie!"     In  this  same  old 
mansion,  with  red  and  yellow  from  the  Indians,  blue 
from  his  mother's  indigo,  and  brushes  from  the  tail 
of  the  household  cat,  he  pursued  his  work;  and  two 
years  afterwards,  when  not  yet  nine  years  old,  he  had 
transformed  the  old  attic  into  a  studio,  and  with  bet- 
ter materials  was  working  at  his  first  original.     Be- 
ginning each  morning  with  the  dawn,  and  forgetful 
alike  of  parents  and  of  school,  he  became  so  thoroughly 
absorbed  in  his  work  as  to  awaken   anxietv  bv  his 
absence.     When    search    was    instituted    his    mother 
found  him  in  the  attic,  but  her  inclination  to  anger 
subsided  on  beholding  his  performance:    she  kissed 
liim  with  rapture,  and  procured  his  pardon  from  her 
husband   and    the    schoolmaster.     The   picture   was 
completed  ;  and  when  sixty-seven  years  afterwards  it 
was  exhibited  in  London,  in  the  same  room  with  the 
"Christ  Rejected,"  it  was  thought  to   have   touches 
of  inventive  genius  which  the  artist  had  never  sur- 
passed. 

When  this  lad  had  passed  from  his  home  in  the 
forests  of  the  Xew  World  to  become  the  ''companion 


I  M'"»       -4    'i  --»—■ ~;»Jfi."-~ 


'•--s~-^j"": -»«*  •  » 


16 


X/F^  OF  JO//.V  p.  CEOZKR. 


of  kings  and  emperors  '^  in  tlic  Old,  the  old  homestead 
became  the  birth-place  of  another  child,  destined  also 
to  distinction.  West  had  become  the  I^-esident  of  the 
Royal  Academy;  nine  months  had  passed  since  the 
delivery  of  his  fine  inangnral;  when  on  the  13th  of 
January,  1793,  his  old  place  in  the  little  nursery  was 
filled  by  the  birth  of  JoHN  Price  Crozer.  Nur- 
tured amid  the  same  scenes,  sheltered  by  the  same 
roof,  playing  in  childhood  in  the  same  old  attic, 
enriched  even  then  with  the  memories  of  an  earlier 
time,  the  child  grew  in  breadth  of  thought  and  fixed- 
ness of  purpose,  developing  genius  of  another  sort 
and  taste  of  a  higher  order.  What  circumstances 
awoke  and  strenc^thened  the  sensibilities  of  this  broad- 
browed  bov  we  will  not  now  narrate,  but  venture  the 
thought  that  unless  the  ])icture  of  "Christ  Rejected" 
is  better  than  a  life  of  which  Christ  himself  was  the 
light  and  glory  —  unless  a  genius  to  portray  the 
** Death  of  Socrates"  is  better  than  a  grace  to  die  Avith 
a  calmness  unknown  to  j^hilosophy,  then  the  artist 
must  yield  to  the  philanthropist — and  the  old  mansion 
be  rememberi^d  as  the  birth-place  of  one  whose  works 
were  finer  than  the  arts,  even  as  his  monument  will 
be  more  endurino;. 


CHAPTER    II. 


PARENTAGE. 


TN  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  five  brothers 
-*-  by  the  name  of  Crozer  emigrated  to  this  country 
from    Ireland.     Their   names    were   James,  Samuel, 
John,  Robert,  and  Andrew.     Mr.  Crozer  descended 
from  James,  who  was  his  grandfather  on  his  father's 
side.     Soon  after  the  arrival  of  James  in  this  coun- 
try, he    married    into   a   flimily  of  English    descent 
by  the  name  of  Gleave,  who  owned  a  landed  pro- 
perty in  Springfield— a  property  which  subsequently 
became  his  own.     He  was  remembered  by  his  grand- 
son as  a  venerable  man  in  extreme  old  age,  "  Avear- 
ing  a  dressing-gown    and    cap,  and    leaning   heavilv 
on  his  staff."     He  lived    in  Springfield,  about  half 
a    mile    from    the    residence   of    his    son,    and    was 
glad  to  be  enlivened  at  times  by  the  visits  and  ca- 
resses of  his  grandchildren.     The  grandfather  of  Mr. 
Crozer   by  his  mother's   side   came   from    England. 
His  name  was  John  Price.     He  died  before  the  birth 
of  his  grandson,  and  no  record  cf  him  remains.     His 
parents  were  thus  American  by  birth,  and  natives  of 

2*  B        '  17 


18 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


Delaware  County,  Pennsylvania.  His  father's  name 
was  James  Samuel,  and  his  mother's  Sarah  Price ;  the 
one,  as  we  have  seen,  being  of  Irish  and  the  other  of 
English  descent.  His  father  was  a  carpenter  and 
builder,  pursuing  this  business  mainly  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  When  the  Revolutionary  war  put  an 
end  to  building  operations,  he  returned  to  the  scenes 
and  employment  of  his  youth;  and  soon  after  his 
marriage  became  the  owner  of  the  farm  in  Springfield, 
where  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born.  He 
was  a  man  not  only  of  marked  enterprise  and  energy, 
but  also  of  sterling  integrity.  He  possessed  informa- 
tion beyond  the  wants  of  his  immediate  calling,  and 
to  some  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue  added  a  more 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  English  classics.  The 
works  of  standard  authors,  both  in  prose  and  poetry, 
Avhieh  have  come  down  from  his  lil)raiT  in  the  old 
mansion  at  Springfield,  attest  his  intelligence  and 
taste.  Much  of  that  love  for  learning  which  made 
the  son  the  patron  of  colleges  and  schools  may  be 
fairlv  ascribed  to  the  librarv  of  the  father.  He  seems 
to  have  been  a  man  of  intellectual  rather  than  of 
emotional  development — less  suited  to  cultivate  the 
affections  of  his  children  than  to  command  their 
obedience. 

In  his  religious  opinions  he  was  much  in  sympathy 
with  the  Smnetv  of  Friends,  then  the  dominant  sect 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


19 


around  him,  but  he  never  became  a  member  of  the 
order,  and  committed  the    religious  training   of  his 
children  mainly  into  the  hands  of  their  mother.     This 
mother  was  one  of  the  best  of  women.     Althoujrh 
il'eble  in  health,  and  subject  to  frequent  attacks  of 
illness  accompanied  with  intense  suffering,  she  toiled 
unceasingly  for  the  welfare  of  her  children  and  her 
home.     She  was  a  meek  and  unassuming  woman,  of 
few   words,  but    these   spoken    in   great   sincerity — 
especially  free  from  uncharitableness  in  all  its  forms; 
intelligent,  w^arm-hearted,  and  withal  a  decided  Chris- 
tian.    She  had  been  educated  as  an  Episcopalian,  but 
it  is  recorded  to  her  praise  that  "she  loved  all  wor- 
.ship  and  God's  peoi)le  of  whatever  name."     It  was 
her  constant  aim  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  her  chil- 
dren  the  precepts  of   morality   and    religion.     Such 
influences  are  never  in  vain.     She  lived  to  w^itness 
the  success  of  her  efforts  and  rejoice  in  the  established 
character  of  her  children,     ^yith  John  she  was  espe- 
cially successful.     He  was  devotedly  fond  of  her,  and 
attached  great  sacredness  to  her  counsel.     Her  mem- 
ory is  wrought  into  the  texture  of  his  life.     In  his 
most  religious  moments  we  shall  find  him  thinking 
of  his  mother,  and  forty  years  after  he  had  laid  her 
in  her  grave  w^e  find  him  writing,  "Oh,  how  my  old 
heart  swells  and  softens  while  I  write  of  this  dear 
woman,  wiiom  I  am  proud  to  call  mi/  mother T' 


,tt 


hAh  ■«  ■■».  .1  ^niU  '■ 


'•:,!    --'ja-i'* 


■■fl-    MIS  #-%.*■ 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZE R. 


21 


CHAPTER     III. 


BROTHERS    AND   SISTERS. 


11  HE  children  of  the  family  were  five  in  number: 
-  Elizabeth,  who  became  Mrs.  John  Lewis;  James, 
who  was  the  oldest  son ;  Sarah,  who  became  Mrs. 
Samuel  Y.  Campbell ;  John  Price,  the  subject  of  this 
narrative;  and  Samuel,  who  was  the  Benjamin  of  the 
household.  The  sistere,  although  older  than  John, 
survived  him.  They  were  both  married  to  most 
excellent  Christian  men,  and  are  still  living  in  their 
native  county,  illustrating  in  their  widowed  age  the 
excellence  of  declinino:  years  when  cheered  bv  the 
refinements  of  culture  and  sustained  by  the  consola- 
tions of  the  Christian  faith. 

The  brothers  of  John  both  passed  before  him  to 
their  reward.  James,  the  eldest,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen enteretl  upon  mercantile  pursuits  in  Philadelphia. 
Mr.  Crozer  well  remembered  the  evening  before  his 
departure,  and  recalled  the  thoughtful  look  and  tear- 
ful anxiety  of  his  mother  at  cnnimittinu  her  first-born 
son  to  the  dangers  and  temptations  of  a  city  life — an 
anxiety  inexplicable  to  him  then,  but  afterwards  re- 


i 


I'U 


called  and  appreciated  when  he  himself  had  become  a 
l)arent.  James  was  faithful,  industrious  and  upright. 
In  his  after  life  he  was  always  characterized  by  an 
unwavering  integrity  of  purpose;  although  somewhat 
peculiar  in  his  temperament,  and  perhaps  unduly 
sensitive,  he  was  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him,  and 
lived  and  died  a  most  worthy  man.  He  never 
achieved  such  success  in  his  business  affairs  as  was 
attained  by  his  more  fortunate  brother,  in  whose  em- 
ploy the  later  portion  of  his  life  was  spent.  He  died 
at  Upland,  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Crozer,  in  the 
month  of  October,  1859,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year 
of  his  age. 

Samuel  was  more  than  three  years  younger  than 
John.  He  evinced  in  boyhood  a  strong  love  for 
mechanical  pursuits,  and  an  aversion  equally  strong 
to  Avork  upon  the  farm.  Much  of  his  time  was  spent 
in  his  father's  workshop,  where  his  skill  in  making  a 
variety  of  articles  soon  brought  him  into  notice.  His 
ingenuity  attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  made  him  popular  with  compan- 
ions who  were  ever  ready  to  follow  his  lead.  At 
seventeen  years  of  age  he  left  home  to  learn  the  drug 
business  in  Philadel])hia.  Soon  after  entering  upon 
his  city  life  he  was  led  to  sincere  and  humble  faith  in 
Christ,  and  at  the  same  time  began  to  manifest  a 
strong   desire    for    mental     improvement.     He   now 


22 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  R  CUOZER, 


changed  his  bushiess,  and  entered  tlie  machine  shop 
of  Large  &  Co.,  then  the  largest  establishment  of  the 
kind  in  Philatlelphia.  lie  rose  rapidly  in  the  estima- 
tion of  his  employers,  who  seem  to  have  set  a  high 
value  upon  his  services.  Although  busily  engaged 
during  the  day  in  labor  at  the  shop,  his  evenings  were 
spent  in  reading  and  study ;  and,  being  gifted  witli  a 
wonderfully  tenacious  memory,  he  acquired  knowledge 
Avith  great  rapidity.  Possessing  unusual  conversa- 
tional powers,  he  could  impart  his  knowledge  witli 
readiness  to  others,  and  was  esteemed  a  ])rodigy  by 
his  friends  and  acquaintances.  He  loved  the  society 
of  the  intelligent  and  good,  and  wherever  lie  went 
was  sure  of  a  kind  reception.  On  the  failure  of 
Large  <fe  Co.  in  business,  Sanuiel  was  boarding  in  the 
familv  of  a  fancv  chair-maker,  and  immediatelv  went 
to  work  at  that  business. 

He  continued  thus  until,  on  the  death  of  his  parents, 
the  paternal  estate  was  divided  among  the  children, 
when  he  devoted  all  his  time  in  close  api)lication 
to  studv,  livino;  sometimes  in  the  citv  and  sometimes 
in  the  country.  His  acquirements  were  wonderfully 
rapid,  and  his  thirst  for  knowledge  insatiable.  The 
dav  was  too  short  for  his  researches,  and  his  studies 
were  continued  into  the  hours  of  the  night.  He 
attended  medical  lectures,  and  gave  sj)ccial  attention 
to  the  studv  of  chemistrv.     The  last  was  his  favorite 


LIFE  OF  JOHS  P.  CROZE R. 


23 


study,  and  parlor  audiences  WTre  at  times  both  pleased 
and  instructed  by  his  experiments.  With  an  increase 
of  knowledge  came  also  a  desire  to  be  useful.  About 
this  time  the  Colonization  Society  was  fitting  out  its 
first  colonv  to  Africa.  The  attention  of  Robert  Ral- 
ston,  Francis  ^larkoe,  and  other  gentlemen  of  Phila- 
delphia, was  directed  to  Samuel  Crozer  as  a  person 
well  suited  to  take  charge  of  the  enterprise.  He 
engaged  in  the  service  with  youthful  ardor,  and  sailed 
from  Xew  York  in  the  winter  of  1820.  He  died  in 
Africa  on  the  6th  of  April  following,  on  board  a  little 
sloop  in  the  mouth  of  the  Shirbro  River,  only  a  few 
weeks  after  his  arrival  on  the  coast. 

The  interest  which  the  subject  of  this  narrative 
afterwards  felt  in  the  welfare  not  only  of  the  Coloni- 
zation Society,  but  in  all  efforts  for  the  African  race, 
had  its  earlv  beorinnino:  in  the  death  of  this  brother, 
to  whom  he  was  tenderly  attached. 

With  this  notice  of  the  parents  and  the  brothers 
and  sisters  of  Mr.  Crozer,  we  shall  now  dismiss  them 
from  our  narrative,  except  so  far  as  some  one  of  them 
may  occasionally  appear  in  connection  with  some 
incident  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


CHILDHOOD   AND   YOUTH. 
1793  —  1810. 

R.  CROZER  was  born,  as  already  stated,  on  the 
-^^A.  13th  of  January,  1793,  at  the  old  mansion  in 
Springfield.  This  continued  to  be  his  home  until  he 
reached  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  The 
farm  contains  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  acres, 
and  spreads  out  beautifully  to  the  eye  as  you  approacli 
it  from  Philadelphia.  It  was  a  part  of  that  wide 
stretch  of  land  on  the  right  of  the  West  Chester  and 
Philadelphia  Railroad,  which  rises  gently  to  the  foot 
of  the  hill  on  which  Swartmore  College,  a  Friends' 
institution,  HOW  stands.  The  dwelling  is  located  on 
the  upper  cd^^e  of  the  farm,  and  from  the  portico  in 
the  rear  may  be  seen  every  acre  of  the  estate. 

Mr.  Crozer's  earliest  recollection  of  himself  reaches 
back  to  the  year  1798.  He  was  then  a  child  of  five 
years.  He  remembered  walking  in  the  meadow  near 
the  house  in  com[)any  with  his  father  and  his  cousin 
John  ^loore.  The  remoteness  of  the  date  is  fixed 
with  certaiiitv  l)v  the  fact  that  this  cousin  died  of  .the 
vellow  fever  in  the  summer  of  that  vear.     The  inci- 

24 


u 


I 


I 


I 

i 


m., 


Hi 


t/i 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


25 


dent  is  given  as  illustrating  the  clearness  of*  his  recol- 
lections, since  these,  as  recorded  by  himself,  furnish 
much  that  is  interesting  in  the  story  of  his  early  life. 

The  educational  advantages  of  DelaAvare  County, 
at  that  time,  were  very  limited.  About  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  from  the  old  mansion  there  may  still  be 
seen  a  little  stone  school-house.  Here,  at  the  age  of 
six,  John  commenced  his  studies,  walking  daily  to  the 
school  in  company  with  his  sisters  and  his  l)rother 
James;  and  here  he  received  all  the  school  education 
he  ever  had,  except  a  little  over  one  quarter's  instruc- 
tion, in  his  lifteenth  year,  at  a  school  two  miles  off. 

His  first  teacher,  or  "master/'  as  he  was  called  in 
those  days,  was  named  Moses  Taylor.  John  had 
l)een  under  his  instruction  but  a  short  time,  when 
"Master  Doane'\succeeded  to  authority  in  the  little 
school-house.  He  is  described  as  havino;  been  a  o-ood 
teacher  in  spelling  and  arithmetic.  In  reading,  his 
ability  consisted  in  calling  the  words  readily,  rather 
than  in  emphasis  or  inflection.  He  was  a  thorou<di 
disciplinarian,  and  having  drunk  deeply  into  the 
spirit  of  Solomon,  was  an  earnest  believer  in  the  use 
of  the  ferule  and  the  rod.  John  seems,  however,  to 
have  escaped  correction,  there  being  in  his  case  no 
need  of  such  gentle  persuasion  to  diligence  or  good 
behavior.  On  the  contrarv,  he  was  a  favorite  with 
his  instructor. 


m 


26 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CIIOZEE. 


I^Tuler  thirs  teacher  John  eoiiimeiiced  cypliering, 
and  found  no  little  diffienlty  in  eoniprehending  the 
bcienee  of  numbers.  Long,  irregular  columns  were 
given  him  to  add  up.  How  to  dispose  of  the  tens 
and  hundreds  was  the  problem.  He  was  told  to 
"carry  tliem  forward;"  but  what  "carrying  forward" 
meant  Avas  just  what  he  did  not  understund.  Master 
Doane  scolded,  threatened,  did  nearly  everything  but 
explain,  until  John  was  almost  in  despair.  In  his 
own  words — "My  })oor  little  heart  Avas  sorely  dis- 
tressed for  (lavs,  and  I  well  remcnd)er  my  joy  when  I 
came  to  understand  what  ^carrying  forward'  meant." 
But  once  understo(Kl,  the  studv  became  deb'iilui'ul; 
and  although  fond  of  play,  he  often  sj)ent  the  hour  at 
noon  in  cyphering  instead  of  joining  his  school-mates 
in  their  sport.  A  ( ousciousn oss  of  not  being  as  quick 
in  acquiring  knowledge  as  some  of  his  school-mates 
spurred  him  on;  and  tlic  snmo  ambition  to  master 
thorou<j:hlv  anvthinii  lie  took  in  hand,  which  after- 
wards  characterized  him  in  business  pursuits,  kept  him 
alwavs  abreast  witli  his  school-mates.  The  results 
of  his  diligence  so<»n  began  to  apj'.ear.  As  liis  mind 
developed,  his  j)o\vcr  of  acquiring  increased,  and  we 
find  him  fond  of  scliool  and  learning  fast. 

When  he  wa.-  al>oni  ie;i  yenr-  old,  "  Master  Doane" 
gave  u|)  the  reins  of  government  to  Mr.  Joseph  Par- 
dee,     lie  was  a  man  of  more  education  than  his  pre- 


} 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


'11 


deeessor,  but  in  the  opinion  of  his  youthful  pupil, 
who  had  already  begun  to  study  men,  "he  had  less 
ability  to  inq)art  instruction."  Under  Master  Pardee, 
in  addition  to  his  other  studies,  he  gained  some  knoAv- 
It^lge  of  surveying;  and  soon  put  his  knowledge  into 
])ractice  by  surveying  some  of  his  father\^  fields,  his 
only  instrimients  being  an  old  compass  and  a  two-pole 
chain. 

After  reaching  the  age  of  thirteen,  John  attended 
school  onlv  in  the  winter,  Avorkino^  the  rest  of  the  vear 
on  the  farm.  Even  in  the  Avinter,  his  studies  Avere 
accompanied  Avith  Avork  in  taking  care  of  the  stock, 
cutting  and  carrying  in  the  Avood,  and  building  the 
morning  fires.  In  comj^aring  the  present  facilities 
for  education  Avith  those  of  his  childhood,  Mr.  Crozer 
said,  "  My  teachers  kncAV  nothifig  of  English  grammar, 
although  they  ])rofessed  to  teach  something  of  it ;  and 
the  little  knoAvledge  of  grammar  I  possess  AA'as  ob- 
tained Avithout  a  teacher  after  I  Avas  tAA'cntA'-one.  Not 
one  of  my  teachers,  except  ])erhaps  Mr.  Pardee,  Avould 
noAV  ])ass  examinaticm  as  teacher  of  common  schools 
in  DekvAvare  Countv.  It  is  a  matter  of  satisfaction 
to  me  that  the  education  of  children  is  noAV  so  much 
more  reoardcd."  But  scantv  as  his  earh^  ad\^antages 
Avere,  they  Avere  more  tlian  made  uj)  by  industry  and 
])erseA^erance,  and  it  is  })robable  that,  Avith  the  aid  of 
the  little  library  at  home,  he  acquired  in  his  youth 


28 


LIFE  OF  JOIIX  P.  vnOZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CPOZEE. 


29 


as  irood  an  erliipntiou  ns  is  nsuallv  attaiued  bv  the 
youth  of  the  present  day. 

Tlie  eoininiuiity  in  whieli  ^Ir.  Crozer  passed  Ids 
chihlhood  and  youth  was  not  favorable  to  the  develo])- 
ment  of  C'lu-istian  character.  Tlie  Friends  were  tlie 
controlling*  denomination,  not  only  in  Sprini^fiold,  but 
in  the  county,  and  comprised  nearly  all  who  made  any 
pretension  even  to  the  outward  observance  of  religion. 
Tliev  had  few  ministers  of  their  own,  and '^lirelins: 
priests^'  was  an  epithet  which  they  freely  applied 
to  the  ministers  of  all  other  denominations.  Their 
meeting  were  generally  silent  sittings,  and  of  course 
unattractive  to  the  youno:.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
boys  to  exchange  visits  in  the  afternoon  of  the  Lord's 
Day,  and  often  to  engage  in  ])lay.  John's  relations  on 
his  fathers  side  were  almost  all  members  of  a  society 
which,  in  that  day,  looked  with  leniency  at  least  upon 
this  practice — a  society  so  dominant  in  their  influence 
that  it  required  strong  principle  and  no  little  courage 
to  differ  Avitli  them  in  tlieir  views  or  practices.  The 
youtli  in  fho  familv  naturallv  felt  this  influence,  and 
John  joined  his  school-mates  for  a  time  in  the  Sunday 


visitinff. 


But  there  was,  at  the  same  time,  at  work  in  the 
household  ;ui  influence  of  another  kind.  The  mother 
had  been  educated  under  better  instruction,  and  was 
a  woman  of  decided  piety.     Like  a  good  Christian 


' 


mother,  she  kept  a  constant  watch  over  the  morals  of 
her  children.  There  was  an  Episcopal  service  once  a 
month  at  Chester,  and  this  the  mother  attended  when 
her  health  would  permit,  taking  some  of  her  children 
with  lier.  She  also  taught  her  children  to  respect 
the  Lord\s  Day  and  keep  It  as  holy  time.  One  of 
Mr.  Crozer\s  dearest  reminiscences  of  his  mother  was 
her  custom  of  requiring  him  to  read  the  Bible  to  her 
on  Sunday  when  he  w^as  a  little  child,  she  accompany- 
ing the  reading  with  words  of  comment  and  counsel. 
So  far  as  John  was  concerned,  she  was  successful  in 
instilling  Into  his  young  mind  reverence  for  the  LoixI's 
Day;  for  in  mature  years  he  confessed  that  when  he 
failed  to  do  something  to  mark  the  day  as  holy  time, 
he  felt  guilty  of  sin. 

The  natural  bent  of  Mr.  Crozcr^'^  mind  in  child- 
hood was  serious ;  and  as  a  pnpll  in  school  we  find 
him  docile,  industrious, and  obedient.  In  referring  to 
this  period  of  his  life,  he  remarked  that  his  mind  Avas 
exercised  on  the  subjcK^t  of  religion  from  his  earliest 
recollei'tlons.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Campbell,  mentions 
an  incident  which  took  place,  Illustrative  of  the  effects 
of  his  mother's  teachino:.  She  savs:  "I  do  believe  he 
was  in  earlv  childhood  one  of  our  blessed  Lord's 
chosen  little  ones.  I  remember  once,  when  he  must 
have  been  a  very  small  boy,  a  fearful  storm  threw 
down  with  great  violence  several  of  the  large  willow 


30 


LIFE  OF  JOHX  P.  rnoZFR. 


troos  whicli  stood  near  our  house.  In  the  midst  of 
the  liuiiily  eonsternation,  the  dear  eliild  standing 
arnonir  us  was  heard  eulling  on  ^Onr  Father  wliieh 
art  in  heaven.' ''  But  it  was  not  until  the  age  of  four- 
teen that  he  was  tlion^nirhlv  awakened  to  the  clninis 

« 

of  the  gospel,  and  l)ruugiit  to  make  a  full  surrender 
of  himself  to  Christ. 

On  the  larni  adjoining  his  father's  lived  an  estima- 
ble familv  bv  the  name  of  Pennoek.  On  the  death 
of  a  daughter  in  their  household — a  lovely  Christian 
young  woman,  who  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Eliza- 
betli,  tlie  sister  of  John — Dr.  Staughton  eame  from 
Philadelphia  to  preach  the  funeral  sermon.  The 
neighl)ors  and  friends  assembled  at  the  house  of  the 
Pennoeks,  where  the  service  was  held.  Under  the 
influence  of  this  and  a  few  following  discourses  at  the 
same  ])lacc  a  luunber  of  persons  were  converted, 
among  whom  were  John  and  his  sister  Sarah. 

Little  (lid  the  excellent  Staughton  think,  as  he  stood 
that  dav  under  the  low  ceilin«»:  of  a  farm-house  room, 
looking  around  him  upon  the  little  company  of  neigh- 
bors and  friends  seated  uj)on  cliairs  and  benches,  that 
there  sat  among  the  Imys  a  |>lain  Itut  liioughtful  lad, 
not  yet  fifteen  years  old,  who  was  to  be  one  of  the 
bri(/1ito<t  jewels  in  tlie  crown  of  his  future  rejolcinn: — - 
one  wlio  would  hew  out  a  way  to  opulence  and  ex- 
tended   usefulness,   Ixjcoming   the    benefactor   of  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


31 


poor,  the  friend  of  the  "feeble-minded,"  the  patron 
of  learning,  and  the  steadfast  sup[)orter  of  religion. 
Often  in  after  years  the  full,  round  tones  of  this 
princely  preacher  rung  out  upon  the  ears  of  the 
multitude  which  thronged  his  ministry  in  the  old 
round  meeting-house  in  Sansoni  street;  but  never, 
perhaps,  were  they  heard  so  far  as  when  he  spoke  in 
the  firm-house  kitchen.  As  he  arose,  the  hopes  of 
future  colleges  and  schools  hung  trembling  on  his 
words;  Ethiopia  was  stretching  out  her  hands  to  God 
in  the  |)rayer  of  that  simple  service;  and  the  silver 
bells  of  Burman  pagodas  hung  hushed  and  tremulous 
to  the  songs  of  jiraise. 

Brethren  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  let  us  take  a 
lesson.  Our  wayside  efforts  may  prove  our  best.  A 
sermon  in  a  country  town,  a  friendly  talk  on  the 
dusty  path  of  travel,  a  word  of  counsel  in  some  deso- 
late household  of  the  poor,  may  yield  the  crowning 
blessing  of  our  earthlv  lives. 

In  April,  1807,  John  and  his  sister  Sarah  were 
baptized  by  Dr.  Staughton,  in  the  Schuylkill  at  the 
end  of  Spruce  street,  and  united  with  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church  in  Philadelphia.  The  opportunities  for 
public  religious  instruction  at  Springfield  were  poor. 
Preaching  at  the  Pennocks'  was  infrequent;  a  travel- 
ing Methodist  sometimes  occupied  the  little  school- 
house ;    but  at  ^Farcus  Hook,  eight   miles  off,  there 


LIFE  OF  JOlJy  P.  CROZER. 


was  stated  })ivac'liin<r  once  a  iiioiith,  wliich  John 
always  attended,  and  onee  a  month  or  oftener  he  at- 
tended divme  service  in  Philadelphia ;  .sometimes 
taking  one  or  both  of  his  sisters,  and  at  others  going 
alone  on  horseback.  Tlie  kind  Cliristian  mother  was 
always  readv  to  aid  her  cliildren  in  oettin^;  off  to 
these  meetings,  and  the  father  interposed  no  objection. 

AVith  this  religions  change  in  the  character  of 
John,  there  came  an  increased  desire  for  mental  im- 
provement. He  now  began  to  read  systematically; 
and  although  em]doyed  in  liard  labor  npon  the  tarm 
during  the  day,  he  spent  his  evenings  in  study.  His 
sisters  often  joined  him  in  these  evening  exercises,  as 

also  Miss  Maiy  (Joliins,  afterwards   Mrs.  K ,  a 

young  lady  of  more  than  usual  cultivation,  who  was 
the  intimate  friend  of  his  sister  Elizabeth. 

For  the  next  three  years  John  made  much  progress 
in  improving  his  mind  and  storing  it  with  useful 
knowledge.  He  was  probably  too  assiduous  in  these 
pursuits ;  and  a  weakness  of  sight,  which  troubled 
him  in  after  years,  lie  was  accustomed  to  attribute  to 
protracted  study  V>y  the  dim  light  of  a  single  home- 
made candle.  He  seems  to  have  devoted  everv  vacant 
hour  to  reading.  We  find  him  at  the  plough  with  a 
copy  of  Tliomson's  Seasons  in  his  pocket,  and  when 
his  team  was  resting  in  the  shade  he  passed  the  time 
in  the  pleasant  companionshij)  of  his  book. 


^K-^^snyiifi^''* 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


38 


It  is  evident,  from  the  account  that  remains  of  this 
period  of  his  life,  that  he  felt  the  want  of  male  com- 
panions of  kindred  intelligence  and  taste.  He  found, 
however,  in  the  household  of  liis  friends,  the  Pen- 
nocks,  opportunity  for  useful  conversation,  and  was 
almost  as  intimate  with  them  as  with  the  inmates  of 
his  own  home.  To  this  family,  which  combined 
much  true  gentility  with  religious  worth,  John  was 
deeply  indebted;  and  w^lien,  just  before  he  beeanae  of 
age,  they  removed  from  the  neighborhood,  he  felt  the 
loss  of  their  Christian  companionship  and  sympathy ; 
but  the  influence  they  liad  exerted  was  lasting  in  its 
effect,  and  always  remembered  with  gratitude. 

C 


CHAPTER     V. 


LIFE   AS   A    FATTMEIJ. 


1810  —  1820. 

FOR  some  years  preeedinii'  liis  majority  young 
Cruzer  liacl  the  entire  management  of  his  father's 
farm.  His  father,  under  tlie  sufferin<j:s  of  infiammatory 
rheumatism,  liad  lost  all  energy  and  enter})rise;  and 
the  Hirm  bv  continued  ne^-leet  liad  become  comnara- 
tively  profitless.  This  was  a  source  of  great  anxiety 
to  John,  especially  as  his  power  to  prevent  it  was 
limited.  Only  one  man  was  allowed  him  for  the 
work  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seyenty-tliree 
ncTf<,  except  for  a  few  weeks  in  liaryest.  He  was  not 
permitted  to  carry  out  his  own  enterprising  notions  in 
the  imrchase  of  lime  and  manure,  but  lie  worked  hard 
at  almost  all  kinds  of  work;  and  by  clearing  up 
hedge-rows  and  thickets,  and  putting  uj)  new  fences, 
soon  gavtj  tlie  old  farm  an  a})[)earance  of  neatness  and 
thrift,  althouiich  the  lands  were  as  yet  but  little  im- 
proved. 

The  orchard  of  the  farm  furnished  summer  and  fidl 
as  well  as  ^nter  apple,  wl.i.h  1„.  hauled  to  Pl.ila.lel- 
phia — tliirteen  miles  bv  the  road  of  that  dav — in  a 

34 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


35 


one-horse  cart,  making  three,  four,  and  sometimes 
tive  trips  in  a  Aveek.  His  whole  load  would  usually 
net  but  from  three  to  four  dollars.  In  narratino;  this 
fact  in  after  life,  Mr.  Crozer  naively  added,  "My 
sons  will  think  this  was  small  business.'^  There  was 
a  small  dairy  of  eight  or  nine  cows,  which  added  but- 
ter to  the  products  of  the  farm.  This  he  also  carried 
to  the  market  in  Philadelphia. 

Tins  hard  experience  of  his  early  lifb  was  patiently 
endured.  It  proved  a  wise  and  healthful  discipline 
to  prepare  him  for  his  future  struggles.  Without  it, 
he  might  never  have  triumi)he(l  over  the  difficulties 
which  surrounded  him  in  the  establishment  of  the  busi- 
ness in  which  lie  laid  the  foundations  of  his  wealth. 

In  January,  1814,  John  attained  his  majority,  and 
his  mother  j)roposed  that  from  that  time  he  should 
have  one-third  of  all  that  might  be  sold  from  the 
farm.  This  arrangement  continued  until  the  death 
of  his  father,  two  years  afterwards,  when  his  mother, 
to  whom  the  property  was  left  by  will,  insisted  upon 
increasing  John's  share  of  the  returns.  This  excel- 
lent woman  was  unselfish  in  character  and  prudent 
in  all  her  i)lans;  but  Avith  her  best  economy  and  the 
untiring  industry  of  her  son,  it  was  found  difficult  to 
meet  the  wants  of  the  household,  and  maintain  the 
gentilitv  o)i  dress  and  manners  to  which  they  had 
always  i)p?n  accustomed. 


36 


LIFE  OF  J 01  IS  I\  CROZE R. 


His  fatlioi-  dk'd  in  Januarv,  181G.  His  mother 
survived  her  husband  but  a  vear.  Thev  were  buried 
in  the  Quaker  burying-ground  at  S[)ringfield.  Their 
son  was  not  ]>erniitted  to  raise  the  sinipk\st  stone  to 
mark  the  tput.  Indeed,  a  short  time  after  the  burial 
of  his  motlier  the  few  i)lain  stones  that  marked  the 
Jast  resting-pluee  of  his  irr;\nd-pa rents  were  rudely 
torn  n[)  and  removed,  as  were  also  many  others  in 
that  MTUMont  burvinir-iiround.  To  his  lovin<;'  and 
sensitive  nature  this  aet  was  verv  revolting.  "1  am 
sorry,  rrrff  sorry,"  he  says,  "for  I  have  often  wished 
to  mark  and  proteet  the  spot  where  lho.«-L'  .so  dear  to 
me  slund)er/' 

The  proj)erty  of  th(^  parents  deseended  in  eommon 
to  liis  two  brothers,  his  two  sisters, an<l  himself.  It 
consisted  of  the  farm,  with  its  buildings,  and  about 
four  thousand  dollars  in  monev.  John  reeeived  the 
sneeial  l^acy  of  his  father's  library,  book-ease,  and 
silver  wateh. 

His  sister  Klizabeth  had  beeome  the  wife  of  ^Ir. 
John  Lewis,  a  man  whom  Mr.  (Jrozer  esteemed  "as 
among  the  most  exeellent  of  mankind,  as  well  as  one 
of  the  best  and  kindoi  nl  husbands."  lie  found  no 
reason  to  eliange  tliis  opinion  in  the  life-long  friend- 
ship whieli  sueeeeded.  Hi.-?  aialer  Sarah  \\as  living 
with  the  newly-married  pair,  and  his  two  brothers 
Tvei<'  in  l>u-in'---  in  Pliiladeliihia. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


37 


Mr.  Crozer  was  thus  left  alone  in  the  old  home- 
stead with  one  man,  a  boy,  and  an  old  female  relation 
as  housekeeper.  The  farm  was  rented  to  him  at  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year  and  the  taxes.  He  set  to 
work  in  earnest,  farming  now  for  the  first  tkne  in  his 
own  way  and  on  his  own  aecount.  His  love  of  read- 
ing at  this  time  inereased;  being  mueh  alone,  it  fur- 
nished his  chief  recreation.  He  was  often  sad  and 
low-spirited  at  this  period  of  his  life,  and  records  a 
certain  recklessness  and  indifference  as  growing  upon 
him.  He  blamed  himself  unjustly  for  this  condition 
of  mind,  which  was  probably  but  the  result  of  his  too 
solitary  life  and  too  monotonous  occupation.  His 
home  was  sometimes  enlivened  by  a  visit  from  one 
of  his  brothers  or  sisters,  but  for  most  of  the  time 
he  was  confined  to  the  society  of  the  persons  in  his 
employ. 

He  washed  to  purchase  the  farm,  not  so  much  from 
any  growing  love  of  farming  pursuits  as  to  keep  it 
from  the  hands  of  strangers.  His  fellow-lieirs  wished 
him  to  become  the  ])urchaser,  and  probably  for  the 
same  reason.  But,  after  long  and  patient  considera- 
tion, he  concluded  that  he  could  not  pay  for  it  out  of 
its  products  for  many  years,  and  he  had  little  else 
upon  which  to  rely.  He  says:  "I  thought  of  graz- 
ing, dairying,  vegetable  farming — every  plan  which 
my  reason  or  fancy  could  suggest.     Sheet  after  sheet 


38 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  R  CROZER. 


wa>:  fiiriirod  over,  but  all  in  vain.  I  Ibund  that  to 
buy  would  be  fatal,  for  I  could  never  get  out  of  debt. 
11  le  farm  mud  he  sold  to  strcnir/crx.  Tear  a  fricMcd 
down  my  cheeks  as  I  reached  this  sad  conciiisionJ^ 

The  liope  of  becoming  the  owner  of  the  homestead 
once  al)andoned,  he  decided  upon  ii  change;  and  early 
in  the  spring  of  1S20,  having  found  a  tenant  for  the 
farm  until  arrangements  for  its  sale  could  be  com- 
pleted, lie  sold  out  his  implements  and  farm-stock  at 
Springfield,  and  resolved  to  look  about  him  in  the 
world  for  a  home,  and  perhaps  for  some  other  occu- 
pation. 

In  the  last  year  of  his  life  upon  the  farm  ]\Ir. 
Crozer  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  lady  to  whom 
he  became  ten(h^rlv  attached.  She  was  the  dauirhter 
of  a  neighboriiiir  gentleman,  reputed  for  the  comfort 
of  his  home  and  the  stvle  of  his  livini;.  The  dauoh- 
ter,  to  lier  praise  be  it  said,  discovered  and  ap])reciated 
the  worth  of  her  fiu'mer  friend;  but  her  father,  under 
the  inHueuce  of  feelinirs  bv  far  too  common  with  nen- 
tlemeu  of  his  class,  desired  other  (lualificatlons  than 
intelligence  and  industry  for  tlie  man  who  was  to  be 
the  husband  «»f  hi>  danghter.  Mr.  Crozer  did  not 
press  his  suit,  being  infinenced,  not  only  by  the  objec- 
tions of  the  fiither,  but  al.-o  by  the  fear  that,  with  his 
own  uncertain  prospects,  he  might  do  injustice  to  the 
welflire  of   the  daughter   in    witlidrawing    her  from 


LIFE  OF  JOHN   P.  CROZER. 


39 


comforts  and  advantages  which  he  had  not  the  means 
to  supply. 

On  retiring  for  ever,  as  he  thought,  from  the  neigh- 
borhood where  he  had  spent  his  childhood  and  his 
youth,  he  bade  her  farewell  in  a  letter  of  such  singu- 
lar merit  that  it  cannot  in  justice  to  his  memory  be 
withheld.  The  reader  will  not  fail  to  notice,  in  the 
purity  of  its  style  and  the  dignity  of  its  spirit,  what 
progress  in  manliness  lie  had  made  at  the  end  of  his 
life  upon  the  farm : 


"To  :\rjss 

"My  Dear  Friexd: — Permit  me  to  greet  you 
by  so  affectionate  a  name  as  ^dear  friend,'  for  I  feel 
for  you  all  the  regard  belonging  to  the  character  of 
friend,  added  to  a  character  infinitelv  more  tender, 
wdiicli  I  forbear  to  mention.  So  much  good  sense, 
such  gentleness,  such  piety,  all  added  to  manners  so 
unassuming,  cannot  fail  to  l)e  observed  and  attract 
admirers  among  the  most  deserving  men;  and  it  is 
my  fervent  wish,  that  an  overruling  Providence  may 
guide  you  in  your  choice  of  one  who  will  be  alike 
able  and  willing  to  make  you  what  you  deserve  to  be 
— the  happiest  of  women. 

"  And  now  permit  me  to  say  a  word  of  myself,  on 
whom  fortune  has  uoxov  smiled.  I  have  been  obliwd 
to  make  great  exertions  to  overrule  mv  will,  which 


40 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


led  me  to  regard  you  with  more  tenderness  than  you 
are  aware  of,  unless  indeed  you  have   observed  my 

actions. 

"lu  eonsideration  of  my  humble  situation  in  life, 
judgment  lias  prevailed,  and  I  am  about  to  separate 
myself  from  your  delightful  company,  in  all  proba- 
bility for  ever.  I  could  not,  however,  take  a  final 
adieu  before  yielding  so  for  to  my  feelings  as  to  make 
known  tlie  influence  you  have  had  over  me.  But  in 
so  doino;  I  have  no  interested  motives.  I  wish  not  to 
eniraoe  your  aifections;  this,  on  my  part,  would  be 
cruel,  because  I  am  resolved  never  to  marry  a  woman 
whom  I  cannot  support  with  as  much  dignity  and 
attention  as  she  had  received  in  her  single  state,  which 
iu  relation  to  you  could  not  be  done  by  me. 

"I  must  therefore  look  amid  the  forests  of  Ohio  for 
one  similarly  situated  with  mvsclf;  tliis  is  my  doom; 
and  what  makes  it  the  more  painful  is,  tliat  I  cannot 
cherish  tlic^  nMuembrance  of  you;  )>ut,  on  the  contrary, 
in  duty  to  myself,  must  endeavor  to  forget  you.  My 
soul  swells ;  I  can  add  no  more.  The  last  words  that 
you  may  ever  hear  fioiu  me  are  these:  Could  I  serv^e 
you  by  laying  down  my  life,  I  should  do  it  without 
hesitation.         Respectfully  \'ours, 

"John  P.  Crozer." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

JOURNEY   TO   THE   WEST. 
1820— April  to  December. 

l\/rR.  CROZER  had  now  entered  upon  the  twenty- 
^^  eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  may  be  described  as 
a  man  of  about  tlie  average  height,  squarely  and 
strongly  made,  of  robust  health,  and  a  most  vigorous 
constitution.  He  was  well  endoAved  with  natural 
courage;  and  possessing  a  resolute  will,  hardship  and 
dang(3r,  at  this  period  of  his  life,  were  attractive 
rather  than  repulsive  in  his  view. 

Having  decided  to  look  about  him  in  the  world,  he 
began  his  preparations,  and  very  naturally  turned  his 
attention  to  the  West.  Western  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania  were  then  called  "the  AVest;"  Indiana 
and  Illinois  were  out  on  the  confines  of  civilized  life; 
but  (jur  traveler  had  decided  on  a  thorough  tour,  and 
mapped  out  a  journey  which  exteiuh^l  west  into  the 
State  of  Illinois,  and  south  to  Eouisvillc  nnd  Lexing- 
ton in  Kentiickv. 

ft 

At  that  time  tlie-re  were  no  reliable  modes  of  pub- 
lic  conveyance.     Turnpike   roads  had  been  built  to 

^  -II 


42 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


Pittsburg,  and  the  National  Road  had  been  opened  to 
Wheeling,  btagts  also  ran  daily  to  Cincinnati  and 
Lexington.  But  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  farther  west, 
the  traveler  must  journey  in  the  saddle  or  on  foot. 
To  ^\v.  Crozer,  who  was  already  a  practiced  horse- 
man, traveling  in  the  saddle  was  no  hardshii).  In 
the  month  of  April  we  tind  him  mounted  on  a 
"square-built  l^lnck  mare"  and  equii)pe(l  for  his  long 
journey — a  journey  which  proved  to  be  about  twenty- 
seven  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  which  he  accom- 
plished at  the  average  rale  of  forty  miles  a  day.  He 
shaped  his  course  for  the  INIiami  Valley,  crossing  the 
Ohio  at  Wheeling  in  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  having 
visited  on  his  wav  his  old  friends  of  the  Pennock 
family,  who  had  now  become  residents  of  Fayette 
County,  Pennsylvania. 

At  that  time  the  arks  and  keel-boats,  in  which  the 
produce  of  the  country  was  floated  down  to  New 
Orleans,  wcn-e  giving  ])lace  to  steamboats.  Merchan- 
dise that  would  not  be  injured  l)y  exposure  to  water 
and  the  weather  was  still  sent  to  market  on  these 
arks,  which  were  little  else  than  ratt>  of  lumber  or 
timber,  fastened  together  temporarily,  to  be  taken 
apart  and  sold  on  arrival  at  New  Orleans.  On  the 
Little  Miami  our  traveler  visited  a  Shaker  settlement, 
and  admired  tli(Mr  well-cultivated  and  fertile  lields. 
Some  of  the  i)ecidiarities  of  the  Shakers  might  liave 


.      -    ...    *r.   ^"J 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


43 


excited  ridicule;  but  thev  did  not  with  him.  Thus 
early  he  had  learned  to  treat  opinions  and  practices, 
however  different  from  his  own,  with  respect  and 
charity.  He  says :  "  I  made  some  acquaintances 
among  this  singular  people,  and  informed  myself  as 
to  their  origin,  doctrines,  and  habits.  I  felt  no  dis- 
position to  ridicule  them.  It  has  been  my  aim  to 
treat  opinions  differing  from  my  own  with  respect  and 
kindness." 

From  the  IMiami  Yallev,  Mr.  Crozer  iourneved  to 
Cincinnati,  then  a  citv  of  less  than  ten  thousand  in- 
habitants,  although  bv  far  the  lars^est  town  Iving: 
north  of  the  Ohio.  At  this  time  Cincinnati,  in  com- 
mon with  the  whole  West,  was  in  a  troubled  financial 
condition.  The  scarcitv  —  indeed  the  absence  —  of 
specie  as  a  circulating  medium  had  led  to  a  wild  svs- 
tem  of  banking,  and  a  paper  currency  of  changeful 
and  uncertain  value  was  destroying  the  best  interests 
of  trade.  Our  traveler  had  ample  occasion  to  notice 
this  condition  of  affairs,  for  in  his  day's  journey  of 
only  forty  miles  his  dollar  would  sometimes  gain 
or  lose  fully  twenty  per  cent. 

From  Cincinnati,  j\Ir.  Crozer  traveled  by  Vevay 
and  Indianapolis  across  the  whole  State  of  Indiana  to 
Vincennes,  in  the  valley  of  the  Wabash.  Indianapolis 
was  then  a  town  of  less  than  twenty  loir  houses.  The 
old  French  settlement  at  Vincennes  had  then  a  compar- 


44 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


ativc  importance,  wliicli  now  it  does  not  possess.  After 
a  brief  stay  in  this  vicinity,  lio  rode  up  tlie  vallev  of 
the  Wabash  to  Terre  Haute,  and  was  pleased  with 
the  appearance  of  the  country.  He  thought  it  equal 
to  any  lie  liad  seen  except  the  Miami  Valley.  Push- 
ino-  his  journey  into  Illinois,  he  visited  a  settlement 
of  Englisli  larmers  whicli  was  attracting  nuich  atten- 
tion at  the  time,  and  returning  thence  to  Indiana, 
came  down  the  AVabasli  to  New  Harmonv. 

Xew  Harmonv  was  then  in  the  hands  of  its  orionnal 
settlers— a  company  of  Gernians— under  the  leader- 
sliip,  almost  the  sovereignty,  of  Frederick  Kapp.  This 
'company  had  emigrated  from  Germany  in  1804,  and  '^ 
established  themselves  in  Butler  C  ountv,  Pennsvl- 
vauia,  at  a  ])lace  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of 
"Harmony:"  l.ut  desirino;  a  milder  climate,  thev  had 
removed,  in  1814,  to  thcMr  present  situation,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  ot  "  New  Harmony,"  in  honor  of 
their  old  location.  They  held  their  property  in  com- 
mon, although  all  titles  to  r(>al  estate  Avere  vested  in 
Mr.  lia])}),  who  was  guide,  irovernor,  and  minister  of 
tlu'  gosjK^l.  His  niithoritv  was  almost  absolute,  alike 
in  temporal  and  in  spiritual  thlnirs.  Their  relifnous 
Yw\y<  were  luuch  like  tho«'  of  tlic  Moravians,  and  a 
simi)]e  piety  was  the  saving  element  in  their  otherwise 
mistaken  phih  koj  )hv. 

A-^    a    place  of  tlirift,  Mr.  Crozer  savs,   ^'I   have 


/ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


45 


ff 

I 


♦ 


never  seen  its  equal.  They  had  a  beautifully  laid  out 
village,  at  first  of  log  houses,  which  w'ere  now  giving 
way  to  neat  brick  dwellings  of  moderate  dimensions, 
each  house  beino;  in  the  middle  of  a  lot  and  richlv 
surrounded  by  shrubbery  and  flowers.  All  the  men 
seemed  to  be  engaged  in  building,  and  the  women  were 
conducting  the  work  of  the  farms.  In  one  field  I 
saw  a  dozen  women  ploughing,  each  driving  a  span 
of  fat  horses.  The  soil  was  rich  and  w^onderfullv 
productive,  and  the  settlement  w^as  very  flourishing.^' 
It  continued  to  flourish  in  most  respects,  except  in  the 
ill-health  of  the  company,  who,  five  years  after  the 
visit  of  our  traveler,  sold  out  their  estate,  and  return- 
inii:  to  Pennsvlvania,  founded  in  Beaver  Countv  the 
still  thriving  village  of  Economy.  Their  patriarch, 
Rapp,  lived  with  them  until  his  death,  in  the  year 
1847. 

New  Harmony,  which  in  their  hands  had  not  been  / 
a  failure,  now  j^assed  to  the  owuiership  of  the  famous  ^ 
Robert  Dale  Owen.  The  fine  old  church  was  turned 
into  a  place  of  amusement,  and  the  schemes  of  Social- 
ism were  fiiirly  inaugurated.  Morality  was  nominally 
insisted  upon,  but  its  relations  to  religion  were  ne- 
glected. As  might  have  been  foreseen.  New  Harmony 
under  Owen  was  a  ])itiable  failure.  Mr.  Crozer, 
whose  visit  there  had  made  him  a  watchful  observer 
of  its  history,  recorded  a  few  years  later:  "This  is  an- 


46 


LIFE  OF  JOHN   P.  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


47 


other  instance  of  the  folly  of  atteniptino;  to  establish 
eoiiiniiHiities  of  men  by  repudiating  or  failing  to  re- 
cogiiizu  iiiu  I  iiristian  religion  as  the  basis  of  society 
and  good  government." 

Prof^iiinir  from  Indiana  into  Kentucky,  our  traveler 
visited  Louisville.  This  was  then  a  town  of  great 
activity  in  businc-s.  ^ln<t  of  the  town  was  located 
upon  one  street  of  })erhaps  two  miles  in  length.  The 
canal  Avn<  not  then  projected,  but  wlien  the  waters  of 
the  Ohio  were  high,  boats  ])assed  over  the  falls,  mak- 
ing it  even  then  an  important  point  for  the  shipment 
and  translii])ment  of  merchandise.  Louisville,  in 
that  day,  wore  an  air  of  city  activity  and  enterprise 
which  Mr.  Crozer  had  never  witnessed  in  Phila- 
delphia, lie  says:  "I  never  before  saw  so  many 
hacks  and  carriages  for  hire  in  one  place."  From 
Louisville  he  iourneved  to  Lexino'ton  throuich  some 
of  the  tiiicst  lands  of  Kentucky.  Of  the  country 
between  these  two  cities,  he  says:  "I  thought  I  had 
nevf^r  >:pen  so  fine  land<.  and  none  so  highly  cultivated, 
not  even  in  Lancaster  County,  in  my  native  State.'' 
The  fiirms  were  Avorked  bv  slaves  in  small  jianirs  of 
from  three  to  five. 

In  1850,  ^fr.  Crozer  traveled  a<>:ain  throuii'h  the 
same  country,  and  was  impressed  with  tlie  great 
ciiange  that  liad  come  over  it.  He  says:  '*I  found 
the  soil  greatly  impuvcri-lud,  and  its  productiveness 


a 


diminished.  Tliir;  I  attribute  to  the  bliffhtinsr  curse 
of  slavery,  for  a  finer  natural  soil  or  a  more  beautiful 
coiuitry  than  this  portion  of  Kentucky  cannot  be 
found.  Yet  this  naturally  lovely  country  is  not  even 
stationary;  it  is  clearly  retrograding;  the  lands  are 
neglected  and  the  houses  unimproved.  The  town  of 
Lexington  ha.s  advanced  but  little;  its  hotels  are 
fourth  rate,  and  all  things  are  behind  the  age.  If 
this  is  owing  to  anything  l^ut  slavery,  I  should  like  to 
kn(>w  what." 

]\rr.  Crozer  passed  out  of  Kentucky  at  Coventry, 
which  idace  had  then  been  suddenly  arrested  in  its 
career  of  pros])erity — a  career  based  upon  an  inflated 
currency  that  had  now  collapsed,  bringing  bankruptcy 
and  ruin  upon  its  active  business.  Ten  days  more 
were  spent  in  the  vicinity  of  Cincinnati,  examining 
the  country  l)etween  the  Great  and  Little  Miami 
rivers,  which  Ayas  just  then  being  fairly  opened  and 
brought  into  extensive  culture.  Later  in  life  our 
traveler  had  an  opportunity  to  contrast  the  fine  towns 
and  fertile  fields  of  that  vallev  with  the  slaveholdinir 
territory  south  of  the  river,  and  orroatlv  to  the  dis- 
advantage  of  the  latter. 

From  Cincinnati  Mr.  Crozer  made  his  way  east- 
ward to  LTniontown.  He  says:  "I  did  not  then 
foresee  that  Uniontown  was  to  be  the  future  home  of 
my  sister  Sarah."     He  again   visited   his  "true  and 


48 


LIFE   OF  JOHX  P.  CEO  ZEE. 


tried  friends/'  tlie  Pennocks.  The  happy  influence 
which  this  excellent  Christian  family  exerted  over 
him,  at  the  time  when  his  character  was  forming,  he 
always  rememl)ered  with  gratitude. 

From  Uniontown,  which  is  in  Fayette  County,  in 
the  southern  })art  of  Pennsylvania,  he  shaped  his 
course  northwardly  across  the  whole  breadth  of  his 
native  8tate  towards  the  Falls  of  Niagara;  but  after 
riding  ten  days  in  that  direction  in  the  extreme  heat 
of  August,  his  faithful  mare,  despite  the  careful 
attention  whi<*h  she  had  always  received,  began  to 
frail  under  the  saddle ;  and  somewhat  sorrowfully  our 
traveler  turned  towards  the  right,  for  Susquelianna 
County,  by  way  of  Bellefonte  and  \\'illiamsport. 
Some  eastern  Pennsylvanians  had  Just  then  settled  in 
that  county  and  spoke  well  of  its  resources.  !Mr. 
Crozer  wished  to  see  for  himself  Here,  in  the  north- 
eastern portion  of  t lie  State,  he  turned  upon  his  course 
and  iourneved  southward  to  his  home.  During  this 
extended  journey  ^Ir.  Crozer  saw  places  where  he 
thouo-lit  he  midit  succeed;  but  such  was  the  deranoed 
conditii )n  of  tlie  currency  that  he  did  not  think  it 
prudent  to  move  into  a  c^nuiiry  where  tlie  value  of 
evervtliino^  was  so  changeful  and  uncertain. 

It  was  iiuu  late  in  August,  and  the  farm  being 
rented,  he  found  a  home  with  his  brother-in-law 
Lewis,  at  Castle  Rock,  a  few  miles  distant  from  the 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  fJROZEE. 


49 


homestead.  For  some  months  following  he  spent  his 
time  in  reading  and  study.  But  to  a  man  of  his 
active  temperament  this  could  not  long  continue;  the 
feeling  that  he  ought  to  have  some  settled  employ- 
ment w^rought  increasingly  upon  his  mind,  and  in- 
terfered with  his  ])rogress  in  intellectual  pursuits. 
Late  in  the  autumn  the  farm  was  sold,  to  be  delivered 
in  the  spring,  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  wdiich 
it  liad  been  rented.  It  brought  much  less  than  its 
estimated  value.  The  price  obtained  for  it  was 
divided  equally  among  the  four  surviving  children, 
and  amounted  to  not  quite  twenty-four  hundred  dol- 
lars a-piece.  John's  share,  with  about  one  thousand 
dollars  which  he  had  received  on  the  death  of  his 
parents  and  some  little  interest  thereon,  constituted 
all  he  was  worth.  With  this  scanty  capital  he  com- 
menced his  business  career, 
6  D 


CHAPTER    VII. 


ESTABLISHMENT   IN   BUSINESS. 
1821  —  1825. 

TN  the  spring  of  1821,  Mr.  G.  G.  Leiper,  the 
J-  purchaser  of  the  old  homestead,  proposed  a  ])art- 
nership  to  Mr.  Crozer  for  tlie  running  of  a  new 
merchant  and  saw  mill.  Thev  were  each  to  furnish 
half  of  the  needed  capital ;  and  the  rent  of  the  mills 
— which  were  owned  by  ^Ir.  Leiper — Avas  to  be  the 
equivalent  for  Mr.  Crozer's  services.  The  offer  was 
accepted  and  the  business  was  immediately  com- 
menced. 

The  mill  was  located  upon  Ridley  Creek,  which 
empties  into  the  Delaware  about  three  miles  above 
Chester.  The  logs  for  the  saw-mill  were  purchased 
in  the  Delaware,  at  Richmond,  and  rafted  to  the  head 
of  tide-water  in  the  creek.  From  here  they  were 
hauled  t(»  t!ir  niill,  a  distance  of  about  a  mile.  Grain 
for  the  merchant  mill  was  purchased  in  the  vicinity, 
and  manufactured  into  flour  lor  market.  The  main 
part  of  the  enterprise,  however,  was  the  manufacture 
of  lumber.     This  was  carried  on  largely.    Mr.  Crozer 

50 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


51 


worked  at  the  business  himself,  and,  aided  by  the 
men  he  employed,  had  soon  as  large  a  stock  of  lumber 
on  liand  as  could  be  safely  accumulated.  The  sale 
proved  slow.  The  dullness  of  preceding  years  still 
continued,  and  the  anticipated  revival  of  building 
operations  was  destined  to  still  longer  delay.  Mr. 
Crozer  foresaw  disaster,  and  proposed  to  his  partner 
to  bring  their  business  to  a  close.  To  this  Mr.  Leiper 
assented,  and  ]\Ir.  Crozer  retired  from  the  business 
with  all  the  capital  he  jmt  in,  suffering  only  a  loss  of 
interest  and  the  loss  of  his  summer's  work.  The 
partnership  was  dissolved  in  harmony  and  by  mutual 
consent. 

Disappointed,  but  not  disheartened,  he  resolved 
to  try  again.  In  his  own  words  :  "  ^  What  next  V 
thought  I.  Store-keeping  in  town  and  in  the  coun- 
try, and  a  variety  of  other  occupations,  passed  in 
review  before  me.''  In  this  posture  of  mind  his 
attention  was  directed  to  cotton-spinning.  During 
the  war  of  1812  many  small  manufactories,  chiefly 
of  woolen,  had  sprung  up;  but  those  in  Delaware 
County,  and  almost  everywhere  in  Pennsylvania,  had 
been  unfortunate.  The  factories  were  all  closed,  and 
most  of  them  had  passed  from  the  possession  of  their 
original  owners  into  the  hands  of  their  creditors. 
Only  one  cotton-factory  in  Delaware  County,  that  of 
Wagstaff  &  Englehorn,  continued  running,  and  now 


5-2 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEB. 


appeared  to  be  making  money.  Bnt  Wagstaff  was  a 
praetieal  cotton-spinner  from  England,  and  had  a 
consequent  advantage.  A  new  tariff  on  imported 
fabrics  was  just  then  awakening  tlie  liopcs  of  cotton 
and  woolen  manufacturers,  and  mills  that  had  stood 
still  for  years  were  speedily  put  in  operation. 

^Ir.  Crozer  felt  the  impulse  of  the  hour,  and 
decided  to  become  a  cotton-spinner.  His  first  thought 
in  tliis  direction  he  coidd  never  recall.  It  was  a 
business  of  which  he  was  ignorant,  and  for  which  his 
capital  was  too  small,  and  yet  he  was  impelled  by 
some  fortunate  circumstance  to  consider  the  possibility 
of  his  entrance  upon  it,  and  had  suflicient  intrepidity 
of  character  to  brave  the  ditiiculties  and  dangers 
which  from  the  outset  lie  foresaw. 

At  this  time  a  mill  of  a  thousand  spindles  was 
considered  a  pretty  large  establishment;  but  to  com- 
mence the  bii-iinesi:  of  manufacturing,  even  in  a 
limited  way,  reijiiired  no  inconsiderable  expenditure. 
Mr.  Crozer  now  had  onlv  from  thirty-six  to  thirty- 
seven  iiundred  dollars,  it  was  all  in  ready  money, 
and  witli  this  little  capital  he  embarked  in  the 
enterprise. 

His  brother-in-law,  Mr.  John  Lewis,  took  a  silent 
interest  witli  him,  adding  about  two  thousand  dollars 
to  the  capital,  but  subsequently  withdrew  from  all 
partnership  in  the  business,  at  a  time  when  it  seemed 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEB. 


53 


likely  to  terminate  unprofitably.  His  sympathy  and 
good  counsel,  however,  were  always  continued,  and 
his  generous  aid  was  limited  only  by  his  ability. 

Having  decided  upon  his  course,  Mr.  Crozer  was 
eager  to  begin.  He  rented  the  second  and  third 
stories  and  part  of  the  lower  story  of  Mr.  G.  G.  Lei- 
per's  mill,  on  Ridley  Creek,  for  six  hundred  dollars 
per  year,  including  the  use  of  five  small  tenements. 
He  now  cast  about  him  for  machinery.  He  wished 
to  start  with  new,  but  all  the  machine-shops — of 
which  there  w^ere  then  but  few  in  the  country — were 
tasked  to  their  utmost  capacity.  Impatient  of  delay, 
he  bought  about  four  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  old 
machinery  out  of  a  little  mill  near  the  Brandywine. 
It  had  run  only  two  years,  but  was  never  good,  being 
badly  planned  and  poorly  made.  It  was  moved  into 
the  rented  premises  in  November,  and  was  ready  to 
operate  in  February.  When  in  after  years  Mr. 
Crozer  looked  back  with  the  eye  of  an  experienced 
manufacturer  on  all  the  disadvantages  of  his  position 
at  this  time,  and  remembered  his  meagre  acquaintance 
with  the  business,  the  smallness  of  his  capital,  the 
bad  quality  of  his  machinery,  and  his  utter  inability 
to  secure  competent  help,  he  said, "  It  seems  a  miracle 
that  I  was  not  crushed  at  the  outset. '^ 

But  he  was  destined  to  still  greater  discourage- 
ments.    His  mill  was  hardly  in  full  operation  before 

5  * 


54 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEOZER. 


yarns  became  plenty  in  tlie  market,  and  were  dull  of 
sale  except  for  superior  qualities.  His,  owing  to  the 
badness  of  the  machinery,  werej^oor;  and  sold — when 
they  sokl  at  all — at  low  and  unprofitable  prices.  He 
then  decided  to  commence  weaving,  and  become  his 
own  customer  for  yarns. 

All  weaving  at  that  time-— in  Pennsylvania,  at 
least — was  by  hand.  There  was  not  a  powder-loom 
in  the  State.  A  man  was  employed  to  conduct  tliis 
new  branch  of  the  business,  and  the  weaving  and 
dyeing  of  yarns  was  carried  on  Itiroclv.  The  jroods 
were  sold  chiefly  at  auction.  But  our  manufacturer 
w^as  once  more  disappointed.  Weaving  did  not  pay, 
and  he  incurred  a  serious  loss  by  attempting  it.  He 
was  discouraged  almost  to  distraction  ;  at  times  he 
could  neither  eat  nor  sleep,  so  great  was  his  anxiety 
and  care.  Experience  had  taught  him  that,  if  he 
would  save  himself  from  ruin,  he  nuist  learn  to  con- 
duct his  ( )wn  business.  To  do  this  he  left  his  board- 
ing-house, furnished  a  rocmi  near  the  factory,  and 
hired  a  woman  to  cook  and  bring  him  his  simi)lc 
meals.  He  si)ent  all  his  time  in  the  factory,  cxce[)t 
one  dav  in  each  week,  which  he  was  obliired  to  ffivo 
to  l)usiness  in  the  city.  When  in  the  factory  he  was 
dressed  in  coarse  ])ants  and  a  velvet  round-jacket, 
and  worked  as  hard  at  all  kinds  of  work  as  anv  of 
his  hands.     He  saw  no  company  except  as  he  met 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  riWZER. 


55 


some  relation  or  friend  in  spending  Sunday  at  the 
house  of  his  brother-in-laAv,  Lewis.  He  practised 
the  most  rigid  economy  in  all  his  personal  expenses, 
often  going  without  his  dinner  when  in  Philadelphia 
upon  business,  in  order  to  save  the  half  dollar  it 
would  have  cost.  He  says:  "There  were  no  eating- 
houses,  in  those  days,  where  one  could  spend  a 
shilling  and  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger."  He 
could  not  afford  the  dinner,  and  preferred  hunger  to 
dishonesty. 

But,  with  all  his  industry  and  economy,  he  made 
no  progress.  Things  did  not  improve,  but  rather 
grew  worse.  He  was  pressed  for  money  continually ; 
all  the  advances  he  could  get  on  his  yarns  were  needed 
to  pay  the  wages  of  the  work-peo])le  and  the  notes 
falling  due  for  cotton.  Besides,  he  had  running  debts, 
amounting  to  five  or  six  hundred  dollars,  that  must 
be  soon  provided  for.  To  the  pressure  of  these  small 
debts  he  was  in  danger  of  yielding.  He  had  decided, 
at  the  start,  not  to  put  in  jeopardy  a  dollar  of  any 
capital  but  his  own,  and  his  own  was  now  nearly  ex- 
hausted. In  his  own  words,  "I  became  distressinii^ly 
anxious;  my  little  all  was  involved,  and  a  good  deal 
of  my  brother-in-law's  money.  1  had  early  made  u]3 
my  mind  that  he  should  be  protected  and  every  one 
else ;  that,  when  my  own  capital  was  sunk,  I  would 
go  no  farther.     I  now  felt  that  ruin  was  impending. 


56 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  F.  VROZER. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


51 


My  yarns  would  not  command  the  lull  market  price, 
and  vet  it  cost  me  more  to  produce  them  than  if  my 
machinery  had  been  of  better  construction.  1  had 
introduced  some  new  machinery,  but  if  the  whole — 
jiew  and  old— should  be  brought  to  a  forced  sale,  1 
knew  it  would  bring  far   less  than  its  cost  and  less 

than  its  value." 

In  much  despondency  of  mind,  he  advised  with  his 
brother  and  sister  Lewis.  They  proposed  to  be  his 
securitv  for  an  additional  loan  of  six  hundred  dollars, 
if,  in  his  judgment,  it  would  insure  permanent  relief 
Their  offer  was  made  in  such  a  spirit  of  genuine  sym- 
pathy and  encouragement  as  multiplied  its  value. 
Mr.  Crozer  took  time  for  consideration.  At  first  the 
ease  seemed  ho}X3less;  but  after  days  of  thought  and 
calculation,  he  saw  his  way  clear  to  an  honest  accept- 
ance of  the  loan.  The  money  was  borrowed  from  a 
muucv-lender  in  the  neighborhood — a  miserly  old 
bachelor — who  agreed  to  lend  it  upon  John  Lewis' 
<('rnritv.  A  few  days  afterwards  Mr.  Crozer  went  to 
receive  it,  and  savs :  "  It  was  chieflv  in  silver ;  some 
of  it  he  took  from  a  clock-case,  some  from  an  old  boot 
in  a  closet,  and  some  from  two  other  places  of  con- 
cealment in  his  bed-room  on  the  ground  floor,  from 
wliicii  all  were  excluded  except,  pcriiaps,  his  old 
house-keeper.  Plis  whole  liouse,  as  well  as  his  jjcrson, 
indicated  the   absence  ui  cumtort ;  and  yet   the   man 


\ 


had,  besides  a  large  farm,  many  thousands  of  dollars 
at  interest.     I  was  disgusted." 

The  six  hundred  dollars  were  used  in  paying 
promptly  all  his  outstanding  bills.  His  mind  was 
relieved ;  his  spirits  Avere  raised ;  and,  to  crown  the 
whole,  a  revival  of  business  succeeded.  He  applied 
himself  with  renewed  energy,  and  from  that  time 
onward  was  successful.  In  his  own  words,  "  From 
that  day  to  the  present  I  have  never  been  seriously 
straitened  for  money.  The  loan  of  that  six  hundred 
dollars  turned  the  scale.  To  my  sons,  who  are  accus- 
tomed  to  deal  in  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  it 
mav  seem  strange  that  so  small  a  sum  as  six  hundred 
dollars  should  have  introduced  such  a  change  in  my 
affairs.     Thev  mav  fancy  but  can  never  realize  the 

m.  ft  ft 

early  struggles  of  their  father." 

Mr.  Crozer's  indebtedness  to  the  relatives  who 
aided  him  at  this  juncture  of  his  affairs  was  always 
remembered  with  gratitude.  In  his  estimation,  it 
was  a  debt  which  he  could  never  cancel,  and  although 
in  after  life  he  conferred  substantial  benefits  upon 
them,  he  never  ceased  to  leel  that  he  was  still  their 
debtor. 

Their  example,  it  is  believed,  exerted  a  powerful 
influence  upon  him  in  leading  him  to  similar  efforts 
in  the  behalf  of  others.     Thirtv-five  vears  afterwards, 

ft  ft  ' 

a  young  man  who  had  recently  entered   upon  business 


58 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


called  upon  him  for  a  loan  of  two  thousand  dollars. 
The  loan  was  asked  as  a  matter  of  l)usine>>,  and  as  a 
matter  of  business  was  refused.  Some  indications  of 
disappointment  and  distress  at  its  refusal  induced  Mr. 
Crozer  to  question  the  young  man  further,  when  he 
learned  that  his  business  was  embarrassed  and  his 
credit  in  imminent  danger.  ^Ir.  Crozer's  sympathies 
were  at  once  awakened,  and  on  the  moment  he 
pledged  him  abundant  relief.  The  young  man  Avas 
moved  to  tears;  and  in  a  record  of  the  incident  which 
remains  Mr.  Crozer  says  :  ^^I  could  have  joined  him. 
The  relief  I  was  able  to  give  was  sweet  to  my 
own  soul.  I  shall  carry  nut  my  promise  to  him 
promptly.'^ 

During  the  period  of  intense  business  anxiety  and 
toil  from  which  he  was  now  emerging,  ^Ir.  Crozer 
seems,  in  his  own  candid  judgment,  to  have  made  but 
little  progress  in  personal  j)icty.  lie  says:  "My 
mind  was  so  thoroughly  engrossed  that  for  months 
and  years  no  other  subject  than  my  business  could 
engage,  or  at  least  could  hold,  my  attention.  I  feel, 
in  review,  tliat  this  was  very  sinful.  Solicitude  was 
not  improper,  but  such  total  absorption  was  a  heinous 
sin.  God  wn-  imt  taken  into  :it count,  ;is  lie  should 
have  been.  1  ought,  in  my  business  embarrassments, 
to  have  looked  to  liim  in  sid)niissi(.n.'"  But  a  kind 
heavenly  Father  followed   him  in  love,  and  strength- 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


59 


ened  him  with  elements  of  ])ower  wdiich  saved  him 
from  ruin.  Tireless  industry,  indomitable  perseve- 
rance, and  unimpeacliablo  integrity  were  the  qualities 
which,  w^itli  God's  blessing,  achieved  his  success. 

In  after  years,  when  review^ing  this  portion  of  his 
life,  Mr.  Crozer  said :  "  I  may  now,  in  the  maturity 
of  age  and  in  the  possession  of  a  large  fortune,  recall 
what,  in  the  review^  of  a  long  life,  I  believe  to  be 
strictly  true,  that  I  have  never  intentionally  or  know- 
ingly wTonged  any  one  in  business.  It  has  been  the 
uniform  tenor  of  my  life  to  be  upright  and  honest  in 
my  dealings.  I  may  perhaps  have  driven  hard  bar- 
gains ;  I  know  I  have  been  sometimes  close  in  my 
dealings.  But  a  bargain  or  promise  once  made  by 
me  has  always  been  re2:ar(led  sacred  and  inviolable. 
Xo  temptation  to  dishonesty  has  ever  assailed  me  or 
ever  crossed  my  mind  as  a  sufjgestion.  I  wish  I 
could  make  as  clear  a  record  of  the  thoughts  of  my 
heart  in  every  other  rcsj)ect ;  but,  alas!  I  cannot. 
My  industiy  and  integrity  were  recognized,  I  believe, 
by  all  with  whom  I  had  intercourse;  and,  being  care- 
ful to  fulfill  every  pecuniary  obligation  or  promise,  I 
early  inspired  confidence.  I  was  often  much  strait- 
ened for  money,  but  with  a  full  knowledge  of  my 
business  resources,  I  was  careful  never  to  make  a 
promise  to  pay  without  an  assurance  in  my  ow^n 
mind  that  I  could  comply.     The  })eople  with  whom 


,-  ' 


60 


LIFE  OF  JOBS  F.  (JROZER. 


I  dealt  early  learned  that  I  was  reliable  in  my  pro- 
mises, and  as  a  conseqaenee  rnnning  bills  were  often 
not  ealled  for  by  my  creditors  for  months  after  they 
w^ere  actually  due.     This  w^as  a  benefit  to  me. 

"I  mav  here  recommend  a  similar  course  to  any 
young  man  commencing  business.  Be  careful  never 
to  disappoint  w^ien  you  promise  to  pay ;  and  if  you 
hav6  not  the  monev  to  pav  bills  when  due  and  called 
for,  say  so  frankly,  and  at  the  same  time  say  when 
you  will  pay,  and  never  suifer  the  creditor  to  call 
beyond  the  second  time.  If  it  be  practicable,  pay  a 
little  earlier  than  you  had  engaged  to  do.  You  will 
find  it  advantageous.  Nothing  is  of  so  much  impor- 
tance to  a  young  man  commencing  business  as  a  cha- 
racter for  inteirvity,  industry,  and  promptitude.  The 
comuiunity  aruund  him  will  early  recognize  these 
qualities  and  duly  appreciate  them;  and  they  w^ill 
secure  a  credit  and  a  willingness  to  do  business  w  ith 
him,  thus  making  amends  for  any  want  of  cash  capi- 
tal. I  speak  with  confidence  on  this  subject.  I 
have  witnessed  it  in  my  case  and  in  that  of  others." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


HOME      AT      WEST      BRANCH. 
1825—1840. 

THE  time  of  danger  and  darkness  was  now'  over, 
and  Mr.  Crozer  may  be  regarded  as  having  passed 
the  crisis  of  his  business  life.  Yet  his  advancement 
for  many  succeeding  years  w  as  tedious  and  slow.  He 
made  some  money,  but  not  much;  and  was  still 
obliged  to  conduct  his  affairs  with  the  utmost  economy 
and  care. 

In  the  autumn  of  1824,  a  property  known  as 
Mattson's  paper  mill,  lying  on  the  West  Branch  of 
Chester  Creek,  came  to  auction  by  sheriff  ^s  sale.  It 
consisted  of  a  little  mill-seat,  with  an  old,  rickety 
building  upon  it,  and  about  one  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  of  land.  Air.  Crozer  bought  it  for  seven 
thousand  three  hundred  and  thirtv  dollars.  Unable 
as  yet  to  spare  any  part  of  his  business  capital,  he 
mortgaged  it  to  Mr.  Thomas  AYoodward  for  four 
thousand  dollars,  and  borrowed  the  balance  on  the 
security  of  his  brother-in-law  Lewis.     He  took  pos- 

0  61 


62 


LIFE  OF  JOBS  P.  CROZER. 


session  of  the  property  in  the  spring  of  1825,  and 
called  it  "  West  Branch/' 

Being  now  so  fairly  established  in  business  as  to 
be  reasonably  certain  of  success,  he  thought  himself 
in  proper  circumstances  to  make  an  offer  of  marriage 
to  the  lady  for  whom  he  had  so  long  cherished  an 
affectionate  regard.  Under  the  influence  of  highly 
honorable  motives  he  had  hitherto  controlled  an 
affection  which  for  several  years  had  been  striving  for 
the  mastery.  He  had  determined  in  the  spirit  of  the 
letter  written  on  his  departure — as  he  supposed  for 
ever — from  his  native  county,  to  risk  no  happiness 
but  his  own,  and  never  to  marry  a  woman  whom  he 
could  not  support  in  the  dignity  of  her  single  state. 
The  way  now  seemed  open ;  and,  although  a  present 
economy  was  still  needful,  he  had  such  conlidence  in 
the  future  as  seemed  to  justify  a  proposal.  The  pro- 
posal was  accepted,  and  on  the  12th  of  March,  1825, 
he  w^as  married  to  Miss  Sallie  I^.  Knowles,  of  his 
native  countv. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  same  month  they  com- 
menced housekeeping  at  West  Branch.  The  style  in 
which  they  set  out  in  life  is  not  merely  a  matter  of 
interest,  but  one  of  profitable  instruction.  Everything 
needful  for  comfortable  housekeeping  was  provided. 
Mr.  Crozer  had  a  few  articles  of  furniture,  as  a  bed, 
bedding,  a  few  chairs,  and  some  silver  spoons.     Mrs. 


m 


n 


m 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


63 


Crozer  had  her  clothing  and  a  few  presents  from  her 
friends.  They  bought  furniture,  in  addition,  to  the 
amount  of  a  "little  under  three  hundred  dollars." 

The  best  carpet  was  a  rag  carpet ;  the  best  chairs 
were  Windsor ;  the  best  bedstead  cost  eight  dollars ; 
the  dining-table  was  a  second-hand  mahogany ;  and 
the  breakfiist-table,  which  is  still  preserved,  was  an 
article  that  cost  five  dollars.  This  was  setting  out  in 
a  plain  way — plain  even  for  the  times.  Mr.  Crozer 
savs :  "It  cost  a  little  self-denial,  but  I  have  never 
upon  reflection  disapproved  of  our  humble  beginning ; 
for  wliile  we  aimed  to  keep  none  but  the  best  com- 
pany, I  was  resolved  to  incur  no  expense  beyond 
what  I  could  aiford."  And  he  adds,  in  explanation 
of  this,  words  which  may  well  be  remembered  by  all 
who  hope  to  make  headway  in  the  world :  "  A  differ- 
ent policy  might  liave  kept  us  poor  through  life ;  for 
/  accumulated  only  by  saving  for  many  years  after  our 
marriaf/e" 

Let  all  who  have  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  his 
home  at  Upland,  where  forty  and  even  fifty  sometimes 
shared  the  bounty  of  his  dinner-table,  remember  that 
this  sumptuous  entertainment  had  its  origin  in  the 
humble  beginning  at  West  Branch,  where,  in  harmony 
and  love,  this  excellent  pair,  in  the  practice  of  a  wise 
frugality,  were  laying  the  foundations  of  their  future 
affluence. 


64 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


Mrs.  Crozer  liad  been  brought  up  in  the  enjoyment 
of  manv  luxuries.  Her  home  had  been  one  of  eom- 
fort  and  elegance ;  perhaps  no  gentleman  in  Delaware 
County  kept  so  costly  and  bountiful  a  table  as  her 
father;  but  she  was  unambitious,  prudent,  and  atfec- 
tionate,  and  entered  with  zeal  into  the  plans  and 
purposes  of  her  husband.  They  usually  kept  but  one 
household  servant,  and  boarded  a  number  of  their 
own  laborers  and  mechanics.  They  both  worked 
hard  with  their  own  hands.  They  had  little  company, 
visiting  at  only  two  or  three  places,  and  only  at  times 
which  did  not  interfere  with  their  stated  occujiations. 
The  improvement  in  their  style  of  living  was  only 
gradual,  indeed  almost  imi)erceptiblc,  for  about  eight 
years  after  their  marriajj^e ;  but  it  illustrated  the  say- 
ing  of  Solomon  :  "  Better  is  a  dinner  of  herbs  where 
love  is,  than  a  stalled  ox  and  hatred  therewith."  In 
after  years  they  were  accustomed  to  refer  without 
embarrassment  and  with  many  a  good-humored  recol- 
lection to  the  scenes  of  their  i)lain  but  happy  home  at 
West  Branch.  One  sorrowful  remembrance  is  alone 
recorded :  it  is  that  they  were  not  more  strongly 
influenced  by  the  motives  and  feelings  of  religion. 
Says  Mr.  Crozer,  "  I  look  back  upon  the  fact  with 
grief." 

Much  expense  was  needfully  incurred  in  fitting  up 
the  old  paper  mill  for  a  cotton  factory.     It  was  only 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


65 


a  shell,  and  the  summer  was  nearly  consumed  in 
making  the  necessary  repairs.  But  early  in  August 
the  machinery  from  his  rented  mill  had  been  moved 
in,  and  operations  were  commenced.  The  mill  which 
he  had  rented  from  Mr.  Leiper  was  now  abandoned, 
and  all  his  business  w^as  confined  to  the  newly-pur- 
chased property  at  West  Branch. 

In  transferring  the  machinery  his  operatives  were 
subjected  to  a  loss  of  three  months'  time.  He  had 
been  obliged  to  stop  work  at  the  Leiper  mill  in  May ; 
but  by  giving  his  hands  free  house-rent,  and  sending 
all  their  children  to  school  at  his  own  expense,  he  had 
succeeded  in  retaining  their  services.  He  managetl 
in  this  interval  to  disjiose  of  his  old  stock  of  yarns, 
and  at  favorable  prices. 

He  had  now  a  large  farm,  though  of  rough  land, 
and  upon  it  a  growth  of  valuable  timber.  His 
knowledge  of  practical  farming  came  again  into  use. 
The  profits  of  the  farm,  the  proceeds  from  the  sale"* 
of  the  timber,  with  the  amount  received  from  the 
rent  of  his  tenant-houses,  paid  the  interest  on  the 
whole  sum  which  the  property  had  cost  him,  thus 
giving  him  his  mill-rent  and  house-rent  free,  instead 
of  the  cash  outlay  for  these  purposes  to  which  he  had 
before  been  subjected.  His  time  was  fully  occupied 
through  the  day,  and  for  half  of  each  year  through 
the  evenings  also,     He  was  often  engaged  until  a  late 


c  - 


E 


m 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


hour  in  making  up  the  wages  and  accounts ;  for  at 
this  time  he  was  his  own  book-keeper,  and  kept  not 
even  a  clerk. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1825,  their  household 
was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  a  son.  The  occasion  was 
one  of  joy  and  thankfulness  to  the  father  even  then, 
although  he  little  knew  how  much  in  future  years 
and  in  declining  strength  he  was  to  be  sustained  and 
comforted  by  the  filial  offices  of  the  first-born  of  his 

children. 

About  three  vears  after  his  marriage,  when  his 
affairs  began  to  assume  a  more  comfortable  aspect,  and 
the  pressure  of  too  laborious  occupation  was  in  part 
removed,  we  find  the  religious  elements  of  his  charac- 
ter quickening  into  fresher  life,  and  with  them,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  an  awakening  of  his  early 
interest  in  the  cause  of  education. 

In  the  vear  1828,  he  built  his  first  school-house. 
It  was  a  substantial  stone  building,  about  sixty  feet  in 
length  bv  about  forty  in  V»readth.  It  was  situated 
at  West  Branch,  and  was  designed,  not  only  for  the 
children  of  the  i^eople  in  his  employ,  but  as  a  place 
of  worship  on  the  Lord's  Day ;  and  preaching  was 
sustained,  as  opportunity  offered,  at  his  own  expense. 
This  building  was  also  used  for  a  Sunday-school,  of 
which  he  became  the  sui)erint(iulent.  It  is  believed 
that  the  duties  which  he  then  assumed  as  a  Sunday- 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


67 


school  superintendent  were  continued  to  the  end  of 
his  life. 

He  now  began  to  make  a  little  headway  in  his  busi- 
ness ;  and,  besides  supporting  his  increasing  family  in 
comfort,  was  able  to  add  a  little  year  by  year  to 
his  capital.  This  continued  to  be  the  state  of  affairs 
at  West  Branch,  without  any  incident  of  a  remarkable 
kind,  until  the  year  1835,  Avhen  Mr.  Crozer  encoun- 
tered his  first  serious  loss  in  business.  By  the  death 
and  total  insolvency  of  his  chief  customer  for  yarns, 
he  lost  about  six  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  It 
was  nearly  one-half  of  all  he  was  then  worth.  The 
shock  was  very  severe.  The  amount  at  a  later  period 
of  his  life  would  have  been  regarded  as  a  trifle.  In- 
deed, only  eight  years  afterward  we  shall  find  him 
meeting  a  loss  of  more  than  five  times  the  amount 
with  composure.  But  now  he  had  just  struggled  into 
comparative  ease  and  comfort,  when,  at  forty  years  of 
age,  one-half  the  savings  of  his  whole  life  of  toil  and 
trial  was  swept  away  in  an  hour,  and  himself  thrown 
back  into  anxiety  and  embarrassment.  He  says,  "My 
wife  was  ill  at  the  time,  and  anxiety  for  her  proved 
a  blessing  in  disguise,  as  it  partially  withdrew  my 
mind  from  brooding  over  my  ruinous  loss.  For  some 
days  I  felt  so  much  cast  down  that  I  could  not  attend 
to  my  business,  could  not  stay  in  the  factory."  But 
in  a  week  or  ten  davs  his  native  energy  triumphed. 


68 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEB. 


He  had  niiich  to  do  to  meet  his  engiiii^enients  and  keep 
his  head  above  water,  but  all  went  right,  and  by 
redoubling  his  diligenee  he  was  able  to  meet  the 
emero^eney. 

Hitherto  he  had  spun  yarn  only,  except  in  the  ease 
of  his  early  and  unsuccessful  experiment.  Now  he 
decided  to  weave  also.  Power-looms  had  at  this  time 
become  common.  He  borrowed  monev  to  buv  twenty 
looms,  and  commenced  to  weave  actively.  It  is 
believed  that  all  his  subsequent  extensions,  in  both 
weaving  and  spinning,  were  out  of  profits.  He  was 
very  successful  in  weaving  and  in  all  his  business 
from  that  date. 

But  while  his  business  prospects  were  thus  con- 
stantly brightening,  he  was  called  upon  to  meet  a 
heavy  domestic  affliction.  His  little  son  James  was 
taken  away  on  the  25th  of  October,  1838,  after  a 
very  brief  and  distressing  illness.  The  blow  was 
very  sudden  and  unexpected,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter 
to  his  sister,  in  wliiob  be  inf<M'ms  her  of  bis  loss.  In 
the  conuueucement  oi  his  letter  he  mentioned  his 
sadness  on  parting  with  her  a  short  time  previous, 
when  she  was  on  her  way  homeward,  and  savs : 

*'  Tlie  cause  of  my  sadness  was  not  merely  the  part- 
ing with  a  beloved  sister,  l)ut  t-hieHy  because  1  feared 
you  might  soon  be  bereaved  of  your  only  child,  and 
was  apprehensive  cf  the  consequences  of  such  a  blow 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CBOZER. 


69 


to  you.  I  said  to  my  wufe  more  than  once,  that  I 
thought  I  would  be  willing  to  exchange  the  health  of 
our  children,  and  to  give,  were  it  in  my  jDower,  dear 
James'  vij^orous  constitution  to  your  child.  I  mention 
this  as  illustrative  of  the  deceitfulness  of  human  esti- 
mates. I  then  thought  of  nothing  but  length  of  days 
as  the  lot  of  our  child ;  but  a  few  short  weeks  have 
laid  him  low.  I  can  scarcely  realize  the  change — one 
day  the  dear  child  runnino:  to  meet  me  as  I  came  to 
the  house,  and  two  or  three  days  after  silent  in  death." 

After  detailing  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  death  of  this  loved  child — the  first  with  whom  he 
and  his  companion  were  called  to  part — he  says:  "The 
desolation  and  loneliness  of  my  mind  were  excessive, 
and  at  intervals  continue  so.  But  my  beloved  Avife 
being  always  on  the  s])ot,  the  scene  of  our  child's 
sports  and  of  his  last  agony,  with  something  constantly 
present  to  recall  him  to  her,  she  continues  to  feel 
more  poignantly  than  I  do.'' 

Yet  amid  all  of  the  loneliness  and  anguish  of  this 
first  bitter  experience  of  parental  bereavement.  Chris- 
tian faith  was  in  exercise,  and  he  could  say:  "It  is 
our  desire  to  submit  to  our  bereavement  as  a  visitation 
from  the  Lord,  and  to  bow  in  submission  to  his  will. 
I  have  no  fears,  no  misgivings,  res2)ecting  the  state  of 
children  dvino-  in  their  infancy  ;  and  I  am  desirous 
that  our  child's  death   may  be  a  useful  and  lasting 


I 


70 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P,  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


71 


lesson  to  his  parents  and  family  of  the  instability  of 
mortal  things  and  the  uncertainty  of  life,  and  that  it 
may  influence  us  to  live  nearer  to  the  Lord/'  In  the 
progress  of  the  narrative  we  shall  find  reasons  for 
believing  that  the  desires  which  he  expressed  were 
not  transient  and  unavailing.  The  early  removal  of 
this  darling  child,  as  well  as  the  subsequent  removal 
of  a  daughter  more  advanced  in  life,  were  alike 
wiselv  dosiiriied  to  work  out  kind  and  gracious  results 
for  these  bereaved  parents  and  their  family. 

From  this  period  ^Ir.  Crozer's  advancement  in  tem- 
poral things  was  rapid.  Success  at  last  had  been 
achieved,  and  his  business  became  so  prosperous  that 
he  made  a  purchase  of  another  property  ;  and,  tearing 
away  another  old  paper  mill,  erected  a  new  factory. 
This  property  was  situated  but  a  little  way  from  West 
Branch,  being  at  the  point  where  the  West  Branch 
empties  into  Chester  Creek.  The  dwelling-house 
upon  the  new  estate  was  better  than  the  house  at 
West  Branch,  and  with  some  regret  Mr.  Crozer 
decided  to  remove.  He  liad  resided  nearly  fifteen 
vears  at  West  Branch — years  of  toil,  but  years  of 
happiness.  It  had  been  the  only  home  of  his  married 
life,  and  the  birthplace  of  his  seven  children — Samuel, 
Margaret,  Elizabeth,  Lewis,  Sallie,  James,  and  Oenrge. 
One  of  these,  James,  had  been  taken  away.  Aiiother  of 
them,  Sallie,  while  yet  ill  the  bloom  of  her  youthful 


1 


life,  was  soon  to  follow.  Two  more,  Robert  and 
Emma,  were  afterward  given  him,  who,  with  the  five 
just  mentioned,  were  to  be  spared  to  cheer  and  comfort 
him  to  the  end  of  his  earthly  life. 

On  removing  from  AYest  Branch  his  regret  was 
lessened  by  the  fact  that  he  should  still  be  near,  and 
that  he  remained  its  owner.  The  change  was  made 
in  November,  1840.  With  the  expectation  of  a 
permanent  residence  on  his  new  estate,  he  called  it 
Crozerville. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


HOME  AT  CROZERVILI.E. 

November,    1839  — May,    1847. 

IN  the  montli  of  November,  1839,  we  find  Mr. 
Crozer  and  hh  family  in  possession  of  their  new 
home.  His  stvle  of  livin<x  had  ffraduallv  althoiifrh 
considerably  improved ;  but  he  says,  "  Habit  lias  so 
much  force  that  it  was  not  easy  for  us,  who  had  so 
long  from  necessity  practised  economy,  to  enlarge  our 
expenditure."  The  little  Sunday-school  was  brought 
with  him  from  West  Branch  and  established  in  his 
own  house  at  Crozerville,  where  it  was  regularly  held 
until  the  date  of  his  removal  from  the  place.  The 
present  location  of  his  home  was  rough  but  exceed- 
ingly picturesque.  Its  chief  disadvantage  arose  from 
its  retired  situation — an  inconvenience  which  he  had 
always  experienced  at  West  Branch — necessitating  a 
long  ride,  usually  on  horseback,  of  about  eighteen 
miles  to  the  city.  The  railroad  which  now  passes 
through  the  town  had  not  then  been  conceived.  On 
the  completion  of  the  railroad  from  Philadelphia  to 
Chester,  the  length  of  this  ride  was  diminished,  as,  bv 


m 

CO 


m 


m 


tn 


tn 


PI 


PI 


N 

m 


m 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


3 


taking  the  cars  at  Chester,  about  seven  miles  from  his 
home,  he  could  reach  Philadelphia  by  rail ;  but  even 
then,  on  the  bad  roads  of  winter,  he  found  himself 
seriously  incommoded.  Tliis  retired  situation,  how- 
ever, was  not  without  its  advantages,  and  kept  both 
him  and  his  household  from  many  annoyances  and 
cares. 

It  may  be  que.-tioned,  also,  if  this  life  of  retirement, 
which  confined  his  familv  so  much  to  their  home, 
and  made  them  so  dependent  upon  each  other,  w^as  not, 
in  part  at  least,  the  cause  of  tlieir  hai)i)y  development, 
and  especially  of  that  strong  family  aftection  which 
visitors  in  their  household  have  so  often  remarked. 

The  business  of  Mr.  Crozer  had  now"  become  lucra- 
tive, and  Ave  find  him  gradually  excusing  himself 
from  some  de])artments  of  work,  reserving  his  strength 
and  energy  lor  more  valuable  employment.  He  also 
became  more  deeply  interested  in  the  things  pertaining 
to  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  an<l  more  anxious  in  his 
search  after  opportunities  of  Christian  usefulness.  He 
began  to  regard  tlie  service  of  the  Lord  as  the  great 
object  of  life,  and  to  perform  that  service  with  down- 
rijrht  earnestness.  Our  narrative  will  henceforth 
abound  with  evidences  of  increased  devotion. 

Lest  this  change  in  the  narrative  should  do  injus- 
tice to  his  previous  piety,  it  is  proper  to  remark  that 
from   this  ])eri<Kl  we   liave  fuller  opportunities  of  ac- 


&"S(T'*rf''*'-iiWT«ffP^  ^lajo* 


74 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


75 


quaintanee  with  his  religious  comlition.  But  that  a 
great  change  took  place  in  him  about  this"  time  is  very 
evident.  It  was  one  of  those  seasons  which  we  so 
frequently  see  in  the  history  of  the  children  of  God — 
a  season  of  spiritual  expansion  or  spiritual  elevation — 
from  which  he  went  out  with  new  zest  and  greater 
earnestness  to  "seek  those  things  which  are  above.'' 

On  the  8th  of  Januar\^,  1842,  on  the  anniversary 
of  his  father's  death,  Mr.  C'rozer  commenced  a  diary, 
in  which  he  records  the  passing  events  of  his  life  and 
the  chief  characteristics  of  his  sj)iritual  condition.  He 
seems  to  have  entered  upon  this  work  of  recording 
the  experiences  of  his  daily  life  in  a  truly  devout 
spirit.  He  desired  to  be  impressed  more  deeply  with 
the  goodness  of  his  heavenly  Father;  to  become  more 
conversant  with  his  own  personal  necessities  and  de- 
pendence ;  and  by  a  history  of  daily  actions,  reviewing 
honestly  the  faults  as  well  as  the  virtues  of  his  course, 
to  strive  for  higher  attainments  in  the  divine  life. 
As  it  was  written  for  no  eye  but  his  own,  it  contained 
the  secrets  of  his  heart.  We  find  him  constantly 
striving  against  the  deceitfulness  of  riches.  In  that 
undivided,  constant  application  which  a  man  conduct- 
ing a  large  business  nuist  bestow  on  its  affairs,  he 
perceived  great  spiritual  danger.  He  says,  "How 
hard  it  is  to  live  for  two  worlds !" 

In   opening  his  diarj^,  Mr.   Crozer  takes  a   brief 


I 


I 


review  of  his  life  since  his  marriage,  and,  speaking  of 
his  present  prosperity,  says :  "  AVhen  earthly  things 
prosper,  they  have  an  absorbing  influence,  and  none 
perhaps  but  those  who  are  prosperous  are  aware  of 
the  dangers  attendant  upon  the  increase  of  riches.  I 
fear  I  am  much  more  wedded  to  the  world  than  I 
should  have  been,  had  I  been  less  successful.  God  in 
his  mercy  i^reserve  me  from  the  deceitfulness  of  riches 
and  the  love  of  the  world  I" 

As  the  last  hours  of  his  forty-ninth  year  were 
passing,  ^Ir.  Crozer  decided  to  set  apart  his  birth- 
days as  seasons  for  self-examination  and  prayer.  His 
first  attempt  w^as  not  so  successful  as  he  desired,  on 
account  of  frequent  interruptions,  yet  he  was  able  to 
give  some  hours  to  reading  John  Angell  James  "On 
Christian  Love,"  and  to  make  this  remark  in  his 
diary:  "I  have  for  some  time  been  attempting,  in 
strength  sought  from  the  I^ord,  to  overcome  some  of 
the  sins  of  my  heart.  I  am  \ery  desirous,  ere  the 
vigor  of  manhood  shall  have  passed,  to  bring  into 
subjection  every  evil  disposition  of  mind,  and  to  come 
entirely  under  the  influence  of  a  consistent  Christian 
temper  in  all  things." 

In  the  early  part  of  February,  1842,  there  was  a 
great  excitement  in  the  community  in  consequence  of 
the  failure  of  certain  banks  and  a  general  derange- 
ment of  the  currency  in.  the  State,  the  exchange  against 


76 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


Philadelphia  in  favor  of  New  York  being  eight  to 
nine  per  cent.  This  unhappy  state  of  affairs  a})})eals 
more  to  the  Christian  side  of  Mr.  Crozer's  character 
than  to  his  feelings  as  a  business  man  ;  and  while  lie 
deprecates  the  effect  of  the  panic  on  the  working 
classes,  he  says,  "The  public  mind  is  engrossed  and 
led  away  from  a  sober,  steady  moral  condition,  and  is 
unfitted  for  the  reception  of  divine  truth  and  religious 
influences.  To  the  Christian,  it  must  ever  be  a  source 
of  joy  to  look  forward  to  that  state  of  society  here  on 
earth  when  the  accumulation  of  wealth  and  the 
pursuits  of  earthly  pleasure  and  aggrandizement  shall 
enter  less  largely  into  the  schemes  of  men.  This  state 
may  not  be  readied  for  a  long  time,  but  the  whole 
course  of  prophecy  authorizes  us  to  expect  that  holy 
influences  will  sooner  or  later  prevail  on  the  earth,  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  influences  of  sordid  pursuits." 

In  March  of  this  vear  there  was  a  "turn-out'^  of 
the  operatives  in  the  factories,  in  consequence  of  a 
proposed  reduction  of  wages,  which  continued  twelve 
weeks,  and  was  attended  with  nianv  exhibitions  of 
unfriendliness  toward  employers.  The  demonstration 
was  so  violent  and  persistent  that  it  was  judged  wise 
to  vindicate  the  majesty  of  law  by  prosecuting  some 
of  the  leaders:  Mr.  Crozer  was  one  of  several  em- 
ployers who  took  an  active  part  in  the  prosecution. 
The  indictment  was  framed  on  a  charge  of  conspiracy 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


11 


"to  injure  and  destroy  the  business  of  employers." 
The  case  was  ablv  conducted,  and  resulted  in  the  con- 
viction  of  the  parties  indicted. 

In  his  diary,  we  find  Mr.  Crozer  deploring  the 
effect  of  the  "turn-out"  on  the  cause  of  Christ.  He 
says:  "The  excitement,  I  fear,  will  have  a  bad  effect 
on  our  churches.  Myself  and  my  dear  wife  mourn 
because  of  our  utter  loss  of  influence  amongst  the 
people.  In  the  present  state  of  feeling  towards  us 
we  cannot  exercise  any  religious  influence  whatever ; 
and,  as  we  are  both  desirous  to  be  useful  to  our  fellow- 
creatures,  we  are  afflicted  at  the  position  of  affairs." 

During  this  period  of  excitement,  which  lasted  for 
twelve  weeks,  we  see  a  development  of  those  qualities 
which  characterized  Mr.  Crozer  during  his  whole  life 
— his  unbending  firmness  and  his  readiness  to  forgive. 

He  made  several  entries  in  his  diary  which  suffi- 
ciently indicate  his  firmness  of  purpose.  He  refers  to 
former  occasions  when  the  workmen  had  vainlv  en- 
deavored  to  coerce  him  either  to  give  a  higher  rate  of 
wages  than  he  could  afford,  or  to  take  again  into  his 
employ  persons  whom,  for  what  he  considered  valid 
reasons,  he  had  discharged.  He  then  adds  :  "  In  the 
present  disagreement  there  is  more  of  deep  determina- 
tion and  greater  indications  of  violence  than  formerly. 
But  as  the  issue  is  fairly  joined,  I  cannot  for  a  mo- 
ment think  of  yielding."     A  few  days  later  he  says  : 


78 


LIFE   OF  JOHS  P.  VROZER. 


"I  do  not  know  if  all  the  employers  will  be  firm,  but 
for  myself  I  have  not  the  most  remote  idea  of  yield- 
ing, and  shall  rather  never  start  tlian  be  eompelled  to 
yield."  On  the  fortieth  day  of  the  ^4urn-out"  some 
of  the  spinners  sought  an  interview  with  him.  He 
fiuys :  "  I  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  them, 
perfectly  calm  on  both  sides,  and  we  i)arted  in  a 
friendly  manner.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  in- 
terview was  sought  under  the  hope  or  expectation 
that  I  would  propose  some  compromise.  I,  however, 
thought  best,  in  reply  to  a  question  asked  me  as  to 
the  pr()l)ability  of  the  mill  starting,  to  say,  positively, 
that  the  mill  would  never  start  except  upon  my 
tenns." 

The  e  passages  are  characteristic,  and  show  that 
when  he  had  once  taken  a  })Osition  which  he  deemed 
right,  he  could  not  be  induced  to  abandon  it. 
Notwithstandincj  all  the  irritating:  and  insult  in": 
things  which  the  work-people  did  and  said  during 
the  ^^  turn-out,"  there  is  ample  proof  that  he  was  not 
actuated  by  vindictive  feelings.  On  the  same  {^age 
from  wliich  the  last  extract  Avas  taken  we  find  the 
following  entry,  under  tlie  same  date:  ''Some  of  the 
families  around  us  arc  beginning  to  need  the  neces-r 
saries  of  life,  which  we  would,  under  different  circum^ 
stances,  supply  with  a  liberal  hand.  We  have  to  d<> 
something  for  a  few  of  them,  but  feel  it  due  to  ourr 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


79 


selves  to  be  sparing,  in  consequence  of  the  cause  of 
their  distress."  During  the  progress  of  the  strike  he 
made  the  following  record :  "  In  a  pecuniary  view  the 
cessation  of  work  will  not,  I  think,  be  any  injury  to 
me  or  to  any  of  the  employers.  With  all  of  us, 
goods,  if  sold  now,  must  be  sold  at  a  sacrifice,  and 
none  of  us  could  continue  w^orkino;  without  makinir 
sales.  We  are  therefore  prepared  for  a  long  susj)en- 
sion."  Yet  as  soon  as  the  workmen  were  ready  to 
yield  he  was  willing  to  resume  work  again.  He  says, 
a  few^  weeks  later:  "My  mule-spinners  have,  after 
twelve  weeks'  resistance,  agreed  to  go  to  work  on  the 
terms  offered  them  when  they  <[uit.  It  has  probably 
been  no  loss  to  me,  but  a  great  loss  to  them.  Trade 
is  very  dull,  and  I  do  not  know  what  to  do  with 
goods,  but  I  shall  do  a  little,  and  will  put  some  of 
the  spinners  to  work."  On  the  following  day  he  was 
overrun,  at  lii^^  different  factories,  with  apj)lications 
for  work,  only  a  part  of  which  he  could  grant.  ^lany 
he  was  compelled  to  send  elsewhere,  with  the  fear 
that  there  also  their  a])])lieation  would  necessarily  be 
refused.  He  says :  "  I  have  a  heart  open  to  the  dis- 
tresses of  my  fellows,  and  cannot  without  i)ain  see 
a  human  being,  the  most  degraded,  in  distress."  A 
few  weeks  after  the  strike  ended,  we  find  him  mak- 
ing the  following  entry:  "The  S]umiing-mill  stops 
work  at  four  o'clock  on  Satnrdav,  imd  the  weave-mill 


80 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


at  five.  It  is  pleasant  to  see  the  children  and  work- 
people at  liberty  after  the  toils  of  the  week.  I  should 
like  it  much  if  the  term  of  working  in  the  factories 
were  shortened.  It  is  quite  too  long  for  children.  I 
am  always  pleased  with  the  return  of  Saturday  eve- 
ning; it  brings  with  it  peace  and  quiet,  and  usually 
gladness  and  light-heartedness  with  the  factory-peo- 
ple/^ And  when,  before  the  end  of  this  summer,  the 
state  of  trade  made  it  necessary  to  reduce  the  wages 
of  the  factory-people,  we  find  him,  at  the  same  time, 
reducing  the  rent  of  their  houses. 

Mr.  Crozer  knew  well  that  the  employers  were  the 
only  proper  judges  of  the  rate  of  wages  which  they 
could  afford  to  pay.  He  saw  that  to  allow  the  work- 
people— who  knew  nothing  of  the  financial  difficulties 
of  the  time,  and  of  the  stagnation  of  business  which 
attended  it — to  dictate  terms,  would  be  ruinous 
to  the  best  interests  of  both  the  employer  and  the 
employed.  Hence,  during  the  strike,  he  stood  firm 
as  a  rock.  Yet,  when  the  strike  was  ended,  he  was 
kind,  conciliatory,  careful  for  the  welfare  of  his  work- 
men. His  feelings  are  well  expressed  in  a  few 
lines,  which  were  penned  at  this  time:  "It  would  be 
gratifvinor  to  me  to  see  the  laboring  classes  have 
plenty  of  work  at  a  fair  compensation,  but  this  can 
never  be  unless  employers  are  prosperous.  This  is  so 
plain  that  it  is  to  me  a  subject  of  surprise  that  work- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


81 


peojile  so  generally  rejoice  in  the  embarrassments  and 
downfall  of  their  employers.'" 

Ever  alive  to  the  danger  attending  the  acquisition 
and  accumulation  of  wealth,  Mr.  Crozer  strove  to 
cultivate  piety  in  liis  own  heart  by  frequent  self- 
examination,  tlie  study  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  the 
reading  of  religious  books,  by  secret  prayer,  and  the 
diligent  use  of  the  ordinary  means  of  grace.  On 
August  13th,  1812,  he  makes  this  record;  "I  am  try- 
ing to  read  Hodge's  ^Way  of  Life,'  but  am  much 
annoyed  with  drowsiness.  I  have  also  to  lament  the 
deadness  and  coldness  of  spirit  which  holds  control 
over  me  in  family  devotion,  and  indifference  to  secret 
prayer.  These  are  evidently  the  signs  and  effects  of 
religious  declension,  a  state  of  mind  to  be  dreaded. 
O  God  !  keep  me  from  coldness  of  heart,  from  luke- 
warmness,  and  if  I  ever  have  loved  thee,  revive,  I 
pray,  thy  love  in  my  heart;  enable  me  to  awake  to 
newness  of  life,  to  put  on  the  whole  armor,  and  enlist 
anew  under  tlie  Captain  of  my  soul's  salvation,  even 
the  Saviour,  Jesus." 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Delaware  County 
Temperance  Society,  on  the  2d  of  September,  matters 
came  up  for  discussion  on  which  he  would  have 
si)oken,  but  was  restrained  by  a  nervous  timidity, 
which  he  greatly  deplored.  On  this  subject  he  made 
the  following  entry :  "  I   feel  mortified   that  I  am  so 


F 


82 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


unfitted  for  discussion  as  not  to  he  able  to  take  a  part; 
but  as  it  is  now  clear  that  I  can  never  he  a  public 
speaker,  I  must  acquiesce.  My  talent  lies  in  other 
things,  and  the  inability  to  express  myself  in  debate 
or  in  public  speaking  ought  to  make  me  aim  to  be 
more  useful  in  such  matters  as  lie  within  my  sphere. 
Oh  that  I  could  be  more  useful  ere  my  life  is  closed ! 
Age  is  now  stealing  upon  me,  and  the  period  of  ac- 
tivity will  soon  have  gone  by." 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  remark,  that  he  was 
during  all  his  life  an  earnest  friend  and  supporter  of 
the  temperance  cause.  In  speaking  of  the  meetings 
to  which  reference  is  made  above,  he  savs :  "  The  cause 
of  temperance  may  fitly  be  called  a  ^righteous  cause.' 
It  unites  on  one  common  platform  the  best  people 
of  the  nation.  Whatever  diversity  of  sentiment  there 
may  be  on  other  subjects,  on  this — of  temperance — 
every  good  man,  every  man  who  is  not  himself  fond 
of  the  cup  and  a  worshiper  of  ^King  Alcohol,'  must 
admit  that  the  cause  is  a  righteous  one,  and  bid  it 
God  speed !" 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  love  of  reading, 
which  characterized  Mr.  Crozer  in  his  youth,  was  not 
destroyed  by  the  cares  of  business  ;  but  as  the  long 
evenings  of  autumn  and  winter  ai)j)roaciie(l,  he  made 
arrangements  for  a  course  of  reading.  He  says,  Octo- 
ber  1st:  "My  son  Samuel,  mv  daujrhier   Mariraret 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


83 


and  myself,  have  this  week  commenced  reading  the 
Bridgewater  Treatises.  We  design  reading  together 
for  from  one  to  two  hours  each  evening,  when  we  are 
all  at  home.  The  remarks  made  and  the  hiquiries 
elicited  will  impress  the  facts  and  arguments  uj^on  our 
minds ;  and  books  which  give  enlarged  views  of  the 
great  Creator  will  not  fail  to  enlarge  the  capacity  of 
their  minds.  I  hope  also  that  the  course  of  reading 
will  restore  a  fondness  for  study  in  my  own  mind. 
The  bewitching  cares  of  life  have  nearly  destroyed 
my  relish  for  thought  and  inquiry." 

Mr.   Crozer    was   a   gentleman   of   truly   catholic 
spirit,  and  took  an  interest  in  all  evangelical  move- 
ments, assisting  with   his   influence   and   his   money 
the    churches    of   other   denominations,   as    well    as 
his    own,    if    thereby   the    cause    of    Christ    could 
be  advanced.     On   Monday,  October  4th,   he  made 
this  entry:   "I  was   yesterday  at  the   ^Blue'  meet- 
ing-house; a  stranger  was  there,  sent   by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  to  this  and  the  Middletown 
meeting-house,  to  make  some  attempt  to  infuse  life 
into   these   decaying   churches.     I  came   away  with 
sadness  of  mind.     The  reflection  that  churches  and 
houses  devoted  to  the  worship  of  God  should  show 
the  devastations  of  time  is  a  source  of  pain  to  the 
Christian.     This  ancient  edifice,  truly   venerable  in 
appearance,  was  erected  by  godly  men,  who  have  for 


84 


LIFE  OF  JOJiy  P.  VROZER. 


three-quM rtors  (if  a  centuiy  ^\v\)X  in  death.  Tliis  is 
one  of  the  oklest  j>lac*e.s  of  worship  in  the  whole 
eonntrv,  ami  its  substantial  and  venerable  walls  testify, 
that  the  yeomanrv  bv  whom  thev  were  erected  were 
willing  to  honor  God  with  their  sul)stanee,  and  in 
that  day,  when  farin-houses  were  of  the  j)lainest  and 
sinn)lest  kind,  they  were  willintr  to  pay  for  a  large  and 
commodious  edifice  and  dedicate  it  to  the  worship  of 
Almiijlitv  God.  In  this  ancient  house  of  God  is  a 
relic  instlv  valued,  not  because  of  anv  inherent  virtue 
it  possesses,  but  from  its  beino;  a  present  from  the 
sainted  Dr.  Isaac  A\'atts.  This  oood  man,  hearing 
of  a  church  and  conijreo^ation  in  a  verv  thinly 
inhabited  region  of  America,  sent  over  a  copy 
of  'Baxter's  Saints'  Rest/  and  in  his  own  hand- 
writing requested  that  it  should  be  placed  in  the 
house  or  session-room,  to  be  read  between  morning 
and  afternoon  services.  Dr.  AVatts  had  learned,  no 
doubt,  the  fact  that  the  people  were  in  the  habit  (4' 
stavini):  durinsi'  tiie  intermission,  as  many  of  the  con- 
PTooation  came  a  loni;  distance  to  worshin.'' 

Kver  interested  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his 
work-people  and  neiirhbors,  Air.  ( 'rozer  arranged  for 
a  protracted  meeting  in  hi©  cliapcl.  It  commenced 
Kovember  24th,  and  was  conducted  by  Rev.  J.  P. 
Hall,  assisted  by  several  ministers  of  different  denomi- 
nations, and  attended   by  ])ersons  of  vaiious  creeds, 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


85 


thus  making  it  a  "  union  meeting."  Sinners  were  soon 
awakened,  and  the  diary  says  :  "  I  humbly  trust  the 
work  is  of  God.  I  have,  indeed,  no  cause  to  doubt  its 
being  so ;  but,  alas !  w  hen  I  review  past  scenes,  and 
reflect,  too,  upon  the  state  of  my  own  mind  at  different 
times,  having  found  deep  conviction  passing  away 
as  the  early  dew^,  a  coldness  spreads  over  me  lest  the 
work  should  prove  of  man,  more  than  of  God.  If  it 
be  of  God,  it  will  prosper.  Oh  that  I  had  stronger 
faith  and  more  active  devotion !  Even  now,  while 
my  pen  records  these  facts,  I  do  not  feeL  My  heart 
is  comparatively  lifeless  and  cold.  What  shall  I  do  ? 
What  can  I  do  to  gain  spiritual-mindedness  and  a 
more  uniform  devotion  ?  Gracious  God  !  direct  me.'' 
The  result  of  this  protracted  effort  was  the  aw^akening 
of  twenty  or  more  persons,  some  of  whom  found 
j)eace  in  believing  in  the  Saviour.  Of  the  effects  of 
the  meeting  on  himself,  Mr.  Crozer  says  :  "  I  have  had 
some  refreshing  seasons ;  last  night  particularly,  I 
felt  freedom  in  social  prayer  before  the  congregation, 
and  experienced  a  sweet  peace  of  mind." 

AVhile  Mr.  Crozer  strove  to  cultivate  personal 
piety,  and  had  a  strong  desire  for  spiritual  enjoyment, 
he  did  not  forget  the  responsibility  of  his  position. 
In  recounting  his  many  blessings — the  blessings  of 
health,  of  a  happy  home,  of  kind  and  excellent 
friends  and  relations,  of  large  and  increasing  wealth — 


86 


LIFE  OF  JOJIX  R  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


87 


he  says  :  "  I  think  I  am  not  so  vain  as  to  believe  that 
my  merit  entitles  me  to  such  blessings ;  and  when  1 
think  of  the  i-esponsibility,  the  requirements,  the 
stewardship,  it  is  then  I  feel,  and  desire  to  feel,  that 
special  blessings  are  not  given  for  naught.  O  God  ! 
enable  me  to  act  as  one  who  expects  to  give  an  accour^t 
of  his  stewardship." 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  he  i)urchased  at  sheriff's 
sale  a  small  farm  adjoining  his  estate,  and  in  making 
a  note  of  the  fact,  he  adds  this  comment:  "In  the 
increase  of  my  earthly  possessions,  the  adding  of  house 
to  house,  and  field  to  field,  oh  how  praiseworthy  it 
would  be  if  I  could  have  a  more  than  corresponding 
increase  in  my  spiritual  interest!     ;My  own  experience 
goes  to  sustain  the  declaration  of  Holy  Writ,  that  it 
is   hard  for   a   rich   man   to  enter  the  kinirdom  of 
heaven.    The  accumulation  of  wealth  euirenders  sordid 
influences,  and    has  a  direct  and  almost  invariable 
tendency  to  stifle  religious  feelings.     If  it  has  in  any 
degree— as  I   trust  it  has— been  my  lot  to  be  kept 
from  the  all-absorbing  influence  of  riches,  I  desire  to 
be  humble  and  to  thank  God  for  his  i^rotectintJ-  care 
But,  alas!   I  liave  much  reason  to  mourn   over  the 
state  of  my  own  mind,  on  account  of  the  hold  the 
cares  of  the  world  and  tlie  deceitfulness  of  riclies  take 
of  me.     A  constant  warfare  is  re(|uisite  to  keep  from 
declension.     O  God!  keep  me,  and  1  shall  l)e  kept.'' 


1 


On  New  Year's  Eve,  in  reflecting  upon  the  year 
then  closing,  he  says :  "  Upon  a  review  of  the  past,  I 
would  willingly  believe  that  some  little  progress  has 
been  made  in  heavenly  wisdom,  and  that  my  mind  is 
less  tied  down  to  earth  than  it  was  twelve  months 
ago;  but  I  am  yet  far  too  worldly.  I  will  strive 
from  this  time  fortli,  through  the  coming  year,  to 
devote  more  time  to  meditation,  prayer,  and  reading 
God's  word  and  evangelical  books.  My  time  is  in 
God's  hands.  I  have  been  spared  many  days,  and 
may  be  near  my  end.  It  becomes  me  to  draw  oft' 
from  earth,  and  cultivate  a  devotional  frame  of  mind 
and  a  preparedness  for  death  and  the  eternal  w^orld." 

During  the  year  1842  there  had  been  much  distress 
in  cities  and  manuflicturing  communities,  among  the 
poor,  for  lack  of  w^ork.  ^Vnd  it  dre^v  to  its  close 
without  any  special  improvement  in  business  pros- 
pects or  in  the  condition  of  the  workmen.  He  had 
opportunity,  therefore,  to  act  as  a  stew^ard  of  the 
bounties  of  God.  He  says,  as  the  last  days  of  the 
year  were  weaning :  "  There  is  much  distress  and  want 
in  our  neighborhood,  and  much  more  in  Philadelphia. 
We  are  doing  a  little,  and  are  ready  to  help  all  cases 
of  need.  Oh,  how  thankful  should  w^e  be  that  our 
industry  has  been  so  blessed  as  to  provide  us  wdth  the 
means  of  helping  others !  And  I  do  feel  thankful, 
too,  that  God  has  given  to  me  and  my  wife  the  dispo- 


r^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  "^^^^^^^^^^^ 


88 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


sition  as  well  as  the  means."     Beside  direct  givin<r, 
he  also  adopted  a  more  effective  mode  of  relief     He 
goes  on  to  say:  "I  am  about  to  start  the  remainder 
of  my  looms,  and  shall  divide  the  work  anionc;  such 
families,  not  hitherto  in  my  employ,  as  seem   most 
needy.     All  regularly  in  my  employ  have  full  work. 
I  only  regret  that  I  have  not  a  way  to  increase  the 
amount  of  employment,  so  as  to  give  full  work  for 
the  whole  neighborhood."     Such  were  the  acts  and 
such  the  feelings  with  which  he  closed  a  year  that 
had  been  marked  by  tlie  most  bitter  outburst  of  feel- 
ing toward  himself  which  he  had  ever  experienced. 

Early  in  18J3  he  carried  out  his  purpose  and 
started  all  his  looms,  to  the  great  relief  of  many 
suffering  families.  He  savs,  Januarv  otli :  "  It  irrati- 
fies  me  to  be  in  a  condition  to  give  so  much  employ- 
ment. I  hope — nay,  believe — that  I  am,  in  part 
at  least,  actuated  by  benevolent  motives ;  yet  I  pre- 
sume the  work-people  do  not  believe  it,  and  sup- 
pose that  I  have  no  feeling  for  them.  I  do  not 
expect  much  gratitude;  and  therefore  hope  that 
ingratitude  may  not  have  any  weight  with  me. 
I  will  try  to  account  to  God  and  do  justly  to 
mv  fellows." 

At  the  return  of  his  birthday,  this  year,  we  find 
Mr.  Crozer  free  from  business,  passing  the  time  in 
self-examination   and    in    reading   "Baxter's    Dving 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


89 


Thoughts."  In  looking  back  on  what  the  year  had 
given  him,  he  says :  ^'  But,  ah !  how  unmindful  am  I 
that  these  things,  these  gifts  of  a  benign  Providence, 
are  but  entrusted  to  my  stewardship,  and  that  I  must 
hereafter  account  for  them  all !  I  can  from  mv  own 
condition  realize  that  a  higli  worldly  prosperity  is  not 
favorable  to  the  divine  life.  Domestic  happiness  is 
certainly  not  adverse  to  piety,  but  is  a  contributor  to, 
and  strengthener  of,  religion  in  the  soul ;  and  I  have 
often  felt  its  hapj)v  influence.  But  the  cares  of  the 
world  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  are  in  deadlv 
hostility  to  religion.  1  am  deep  in  worldly  cares, 
and  have  much  of  this  workVs  goods ;  and  I  have  to 
war  with  these ;  I  find  tlie  necessity  of  watchfulness ; 
and  am,  indeed,  too  often  carried  awav  bv  their  influ- 
ence.  I  often  feel  alarmed,  on  reflecting  how  little 
good  I  am  doing  with  my  wealth ;  and  feel  the  un- 
satisfying nature  of  riches.  The  i)rosperous  man  still 
pursues,  and  still  acquires,  if  he  can,  until  his  heirs 
succeed  him,  to  whom  his  gains  are  often  a  curse." 

After  spending  all  the  morning  in  writing  lettei^ 
of  instruction  to  his  agents,  he  makes  this  entry  in 
his  diary :  "  How  engrossing  this  world  and  its  cares 
are!  How  solicitous  wc  are  about  this  brief  exist- 
ence! A  few  years  hence,  and  it  will  be  of  little 
consequence  to  the  present  family  of  man  whether 
they   lived    in   splendor    or    })ined    in    want.     To  be 


S  ':■ 


'  i***l*^MIh*.'«!«'  'Wf  *  iT*ir 


90 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  VROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


91 


contented  with  ii  little  is  the  grand  secret  of  human 
happiness.  How  earnestly  ought  we  to  strive  and 
pray  against  inordinate  love  of  the  world,  and  Miast- 
ing  to  be  rich ! ' " 

On  February  16th  of  this  year  (1843)  :Mr.  Crozer 
met  with  a  very  serious  accident.     He  was  riding  in 
a  sleigh,  driving  a  horse  he  had  used  for  nine  years. 
The  animal  took  a  sudden  fright,  and   Mr.  Crozer, 
with  all  his  efforts,  found  it  impossible  to  hold  or 
check  him.     On  going  down  a  steep  hill  the  sleigh 
was  upset  and  Mr.  Crozer  thrown  out.     With  return- 
ing consciousness   he   found   himself  disabled  with  a 
broken  thigh,  out  of  sight  and  hearing  of  assistance, 
and  on  a  road  but   little  traveled.     As  he  saw  the 
horse  running  up  the  opposite  hill,  he  believed  some 
one  would  meet  him  as  he  ran,  and  return  to  ascertain 
the   result    of   the   accident.     He   drew   one  of  the 
buffalo-skins,  which  liad  been  tlirown  from  the  sleigh, 
to  where  he  could   roll  partly  upon  it,  and  drew  the 
other  one  over  him ;  and,  with  thanksgiving  to  Al- 
mighty God  that  the  injury  was  no  greater,  he  waited 
for  relief.     In  a  short  time  the  blacksmith  at  the 
"Stars"  came  hurrying  down  the  road,  mounted  on 
the  runaway  horse. 

Mr.  Crozer  says:  "The  horse  had  run  into  his 
yard ;  and,  with  that  promptness  which  true  fellow- 
feeling  and  kindness  suggested,  he  dropped  his  ham- 


mer and  red-hot  iron  on  the  anvil,  ran  into  the  yard, 
threw  the  harness  from  the  horse,  mounted  and  sped 
to  ascertain  if  anybody  was  hurt.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  thrill  of  joy  which  crossed  my  heart  when 
I  first  saw  him  turn  round  the  corner  of  the  road 
and  come  toward  me.  I  knew  that,  from  the  ex- 
treme cold  of  the  day,  early  relief  was  indispensable 
to  my  life.  Though  it  was  in  the  day-time,  and 
there  was  cause  to  expect  that  I  would  not  be  left 
to  perish,  yet  the  road  where  I  lay  was  but  little 
traveled,  and  I  could  not  help  feeling  deep  anxiety 
until  aid  and  assistance  was  certain." 

The  alarm  was  given ;  a  messenger  was  despatched 
for  the  surgeon,  neighbors  collected,  and  Mr.  Crozer 
was  laid  on  a  bed  on  a  settee,  and  thus  borne  by  some 
of  his  workmen  to  his  home.  Passing  West  Branch 
mill,  all  was  commotion,  and  on  the  way  the  sad  pro- 
cession was  met  bv  Mrs.  Crozer  and  her  eldest  son. 
This  accident  confined  Mr.  Crozer  to  his  bed  sixty- 
eiglit  days.  Of  these  days,  long  and  weary  to  a 
person  of  his  activity,  he  says;  "For  the  first  few 
weeks  I  was  too  uneasy  to  attend  to  reading;  but 
when  sufficiently  at  ease  my  belovcnl  wife,  always 
assiduously  attentive,  read  to  me.  We  thus  got 
through  with  D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion together."  In  reference  to  this  accident,  he  says, 
while  yet  confined   to  his  chamber :  "  O  Thou,  who 


92 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CItOZEE. 


didst  preserve  my  life  in  ^reat  danger,  eanse  me  to 
feel  that  I  am  the  ereature  of  thy  power  and  make 
me  the  ready  instrument  of  thy  righteous  will." 

On  the  15th  of  May  he  went  out  of  doors  for  the 
first  time,  on  erutehes.  After  returning  to  the  house, 
he  sketches  in  his  diary  the  following  pleasing  picture 
of  the  scene  before  him :  "  I  now  write,  seated  at  my 
parlor-window,  overlooking  the  factory  and  yard. 
Everything  looks  fresh  and  pleasant — the  air  })ure; 
the  birds  tuning  their  varied  notes;  the  flowers  around 
me,  under  the  culture  of  mv  dauorhters ;  the  forest, 
half  in  bloom,  the  foliage  daily  increasing  in  size  and 
fullness,  and  already  leaved  out  so  as  to  hide  the  view 
beyond.  The  hum  of  l)usincss  is  all  around  me — 
mechanics,  laborei-s,  wagons,  and  factories — a  busy 
scene — and  all  under  my  guidance  and  control.  I 
have  seldom,  if  ever,  enjoyed  the  sweets  of  ])Urc  air 
and  country  prospect  more  than  at  this  moment,  after 
a  long  confinement.  All  seems  calm,  peaceful,  and 
charming.  Oh,  may  the  same  peaceful  calm  prevail 
in  my  bosom  and  rule  my  soul,  even  the  peace  of 
God,  which  passeth  all  understanding!" 

On  the  same  day  he  enumerates  the  various  bless- 
ings which  he  had  l)een  permitted  to  enjov  durino'  this 
season  of  suffering,  and  says:  'M  have  lelt  so  much 
the  iniiuence  of  kindness  and  attention  tliat  it  is  my 
design,  while   I   remain  on  earth,  to  bestow  increased 


ii-   :i.  •-»!  ^ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


93 


attention  upon  the  sick  and  afflicted."  The  resolu- 
tion, thus  formed,  was  faithfully  carried  out,  and 
many  a  sick  and  suffering  one  was  cheered  during 
days  of  affliction  by  his  kind  and  sympathizing  min- 
istries. 

Some  months  later  we  find  Mr.  Crozer  reviewing 
the  past,  and  thus  expressing  himself:  "My  late  dis- 
aster, I  think,  has  not  been  without  effect  upon  my 
character,  and  has  added  considerably  to  that  sober- 
ness and  gravity  which  attend  increasing  age.  I  have 
long  been  an  active  man,  and  had  manifested  in  the 
ardor  of  my  pursuits  no  diminution  of  the  vigor  of 
early  manhood.  But,  being  suddenly  4)rought  up' 
in  my  career  by  my  late  casualty,  I  do  not  feel  quite 
the  same  desire  for  active  life;  indeed,  I  all  at  once 
seem  carried  into  age,  declining  age,  and  feel  as  though 
I  had  less  to  do  with  the  world  and  its  pursuits. 

"  The  fact  of  my  yet  being  extensively  in  business 
may  perhaps,  after  a  time,  recall  me  to  my  former 
feelings  and  movements.  Yet  I  scarcely  think  this 
will  be  the  case.  I  do  not  wish  it  to  be,  and  shall 
rasist  such  feelings.  I  am  desirous — in  mv  reflecting' 
hours  at  least — to  view  my  affliction  as  a  dispensation 
for  my  ultimate  good.  I  cannot  be  here  always ;  in- 
deed, I  cannot  be  here  long.  My  crippled  and  con- 
fined state  has  necessarily  changed  my  hal)its  for  a 
season ;  and,  as  at  my  time  of  life  quiet  and  repose  is 


M 


LIFE  OF  JOILX  F.  CROZER, 


more  necessary,  my  affliction  may  liavc  been  designed 
to  aid  me  in  overcoming  a  fixed  and  almost  inveterate 
liabit  of  incessant  devotion  to  business. 

'^I  do  not  wish  to  retire  from  active  life.  I  do  not 
think  I  should  then  be  as  useful  as  I  now  am.  But 
I  wish  to  contract,  to  withdraw  partially,  both  mind 
and  body.  I  wish,  in  doing  this,  to  guard  against 
idleness  and  inactivity.  I  have  known  instances  of 
too  sudden  withdrawal.  It  is  mv  wish  to  withdraw 
gradually — the  work  of  years,  if  years  are  allowed 
me — ^and  to  guard  carefully  against  any  contraction 
of  my  mental  energies.  It  will  be  right  and  i)roper 
to  use,  as  far  as  age  will  allow,  both  my  physical 
and  mental  energies,  but  to  give  them  another  direc- 
tion more  suited  to  my  age  and  experience,  and  better 
calculated  for  the  good  of  my  fellow-creatures  and  the 
glory  of  God.  O  my  Creator !  imbue  me  with  wis- 
dom to  discern  and  resolution  to  pursue  the  path  best 
fitted  to  promote  thy  glory,  the  goo<l  of  men,  and  my 
own  immortal  haj)pines.s !" 

People  living  in  the  city,  and  having  friends  resid- 
ing in  the  country  not  far  off,  make  it  convenient 
sometimes  to  e:o  out  on  Saturdav  afternoon  and  stay 
over  Sundav.  Mr.  Crozer  had  some  of  tliat  kind  of 
friends,  and  we  find  on  Mondnv.  ^lav  22d,  this  entrv: 
'•I  Imvc  my  Iriends,  and  love  to  entertain  them,  but 
would  much  prefer  entertaining  no  company  on  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


95 


Lord^s  Day.     I  do  not,  it  is  true,  suffer  company  of 
any  kind  to  break  in  upon  our  family  regulations; 
but  worldly  conversation  is  too  apt  to  lead  off  the 
mind  and  keep  from  devotional  exercises.     How  sad 
it  is  that  the  Sunday,  in  the  country  especially,  should 
be  so  desecrated,  so  much  given  to  recreation   and 
amusement  by  the  better  part  of  mankind!     Such 
enjoyments  as  w^ould  Ix^  allowable  on  other  days  be- 
come sinful  on  this  holy  day.     God  preserve  me  and 
mine  from  desecrating  this  day  of  his  appointment !" 
While  moving  about  on  crutches,  leaning  on  his  son, 
he  says :  "  It  is  pleasant  to  have  a  child  to  lean  upon 
in  bodily  afflictions;  but  oh,  how  pleasant  to  have  a 
Saviour   to    lean    upon    in    spiritual   concerns !     My 
Saviour !  enable  me  to  lean  upon  thee ;  grant  me  thy 
presence  day  by  day ;  keep  me  from  inordinate  love 
of  the  world.     I  have  mucli  to  bind  me  here;  but  oh, 
enable  me  to  keep  my  hopes  fixed  with  unwavering 
confidence  on  thee;   and   give  me  that  elevation  of 
hope  which  will  enable  me  to  live  above  the  world  V^ 
A  few  days  subsequently  he  was  glancing  at  the 
state  of  the  country,  so  much  more  encouraging  than 
during  the  most  of  the  ]n'cc'eding  year.     And  in  the 
extract  which  follows,  it  will  be  seen  how  constantly 
and  honestly  he  was  concerned  for  the  Avelfare  of  the 
laboring  classes,  and   how  fully  he  was  prepared  to 
rejoice  in  it:  "Trade  seems  to  be  reviving  in  almost 


96 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


every  branch.  Money  is  more  plenty,  and  cheaper 
than  I  have  ever  known  it — three  and  a  half  to  four 
per  cent,  in  New  York,  and  not  much  liigher  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  country  at  large  is  evidently  recovering 
from  its  low  prostration,  and  healthful  activity  is 
again  manifest.  These  things  I  cannot,  as  a  citizen 
and  philanthropist,  do  other  than  rejoice  in.  The 
laboring  classes  will  first  feel  the  benefit ;  and  they, 
in  every  comnumity,  constitute  the  greater  niunber. 
For  myself  and  family,  we  ought  to  be  content  with 
what  we  have." 

In  June  of  this  year,  he  commenced  an  addition  to 
his  dwelling-house,  partly  to  enable  himself  to  ex- 
tend to  an  increasing  circle  of  friends  that  generous 
hospitality  in  Avhich  he  took  so  much  pleasure,  par- 
ticularlv  when  his  2:uests  were  the  followers  of  Christ. 
In  referring  to  this  proposed  enlargement,  he  says : 
"God  grant  that  we  may  continue  long  in  that  domes- 
tic enjoyment  which  has  hitherto  been  our  lot ;  and, 
while  we  are  enlarp-iufj  the  bounds  of  our  earthlv 
habitation,  may  we  have  increased  solicitude  to  secure 
a  mansion  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  in  the 
possession  of  wealth  and  comfort  here,  may  we  not 
rest  satisfied,  or  forget  that  we  cannot  long  enjoy  a 
home  of  our  own  building!" 

Of  his  great  capacity  for  carrying  on  business  we 
may  ^et  an  idea  from  an  entrv  made,  June  1 7th  :  ^'  I 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


97 


1¥. 


jr    , 


hfive  been  much  occupied  in  mind  this  w^eek  with 
business :  am  fond  of  building  and  of  making  im- 
provements, and  so  I  now  have  two  sets  of  masons 
and  carpenters ;  and  limestone,  sand,  lumber,  <S:c., 
to  provide  to  keep  them  employed ;  two  rafts  to  get 
out,  haul  to  the  lot,  and  pile  at  Marcus  Hook ;  besides 
the  concerns  of  my  three  factories  and  my  agents!  All 
these  supply  ample  material  for  the  mind  and  body 
of  a  cripple,  such  as  I  am  at  present,  yet  I  cannot 
say  that  they  oppress  me."  It  may  surprise  the 
reader  to  know  that,  with  all  this  multitude  of  cares, 
Mr.  Crozer  kept  some  book  in  hand  to  read.  When 
he  went  to  Marcus  Hook  to  look  after  the  rafts  of 
which  he  spoke,  he  took  with  him  the  Life  of  Wilber- 
force,  whom  he  calls  "an  admirable  pattern  for  every 
Christ ianly  man,"  and  read  the  book  as  he  rode, 
having  with  him  his  daughter  Margaret. 

June  20th,  he  says,  he  has  been  reading  Buckland's 
Bridgewater  Treatise,  and  before  the  month  is  out  he 
adds  Rasselas  to  the  list.  At  the  risk  of  seeming; 
I)rolix,  we  add  some  of  the  comments  which  he  made 
upon  geology,  as  the  science  then  stood  ;  and  we  do  it 
to  show  that,  though  Mr.  Crozer's  mind  was  loaded 
with  the  cares  of  a  large  and  increasing  business,  he 
was  watchful  of  the  progress  of  science,  and  that  his 
strong  faith  in  Christ  and  liis  word  lifted  him  above 

all  unbelief:  "  The  vet  not  fullv  understood  science  of 
9  G 


98 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


geology  may  interfere  with  the  literal  sense  of  the 
first  ehapter  of  Genesis,  but  ean  never  overthrow  the 
Christian  theorv :  and  it  is  satisfaetorv  to  find  emi- 
nent  geologists — those  who  have  adopted  the  opinion 
that  the  world  has  existed  many  thousand  ages — fully 
and  unequivoeally  believing  in  the  truths  of  reve- 
lation. 

"  When  I  was  a  child,  and  first  learned  the  philoso- 
phy of  the  rainbow  in  the  heavens,  I  was  disappointed, 
grieved,  and  wished  I  might  be  misinformed.  I  had 
alwavs  been  struck  with  the  beautiful  sublimitv  of 
the  Scripture  account  of  the  rainbow,  and  had  re- 
ceived the  impression  that  it  was  sent  as  a  special 
messenger  from  (lod  on  each  occasion  of  its  appear- 
ance; and  when  I  saw  it  accounted  fu*  as  an  ordinary 
arrangement  of  nature,  it  seemed  to  detract  from  the 
high  dictation, '  I  do  set  my  bow  in  the  clouds.'  Thus 
it  was  with  me  when  geologists  assumed  the  position 
that  the  world,  instead  of  being  the  Almio:htv's  work 
in  six  of  our  days,  was  clearly  many  thousands  or 
millions  of  years  in  becoming  what  it  now  is.  I  felt 
confounded,  but  further  reflection  makes  me  think 
differently;  and  if  ge< >logists  establisji  their  position, 
and  agree  among  themselves — which  as  yet  they  are 
far  from  doinir — I  shall  find  no  <Hfticnlty  in  adopting 
the  theory,  without  its  interfering  in  the  least  with 
my  religious  sentiments.     God  is  yet  the  Creator  of 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


99 


all,  and  Moses  was  his  prophet;  man  is  a  fallen 
creature,  and  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners.  These  truths  remain  unaffected  by  geological 
discoveries,  and  will  ever  remain  amid  the  wTcck  of 
matter  and  the  crash  of  w-orlds." 

It  was  past  midsummer  before  Mr.  Crozer  had  so 
far  recovered  from  his  accident  as  to  be  able  to  return 
to  the  usual  routine  of  his  l)usiness.  On  the  24th  of 
July  he  made  his  first  appearance  among  his  friends 
at  the  bank  at  Chester,  of  which  he  was  a  director. 
On  the  day  previous  he  Avas  at  the  Episcopal  church, 
when  the  prayer  of  thanksgiving  for  deliverance  from 
danofer  was  offered  in  his  behalf. 

He  was  liardlv  restored  to  his  accustomed  strength 
before  a  great  calamity  came  upon  him,  and  in  a  single 
nio-ht  swept  awav  nearlv  fiftv  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  his  i)roperty.  In  the  afternoon  of  August  the  5th, 
1843,  about  three  o'clock,  a  heavy  rain  set  in;  the 
mill  streams  were  rapidly  swollen  to  an  extent  greater 
than  had  ever  before  been  known.  In  the  county  of 
Delaware,  twenty  persons  were  drowned ;  more  than 
fifty  public  bridges  were  carried  away ;  thirty  houses 
and  almost  all  of  the  mill-dams  were  destroyed  ; 
manv  factories  were  wTccked,  and  some  were  ruined. 
Mr.  Crozer's  Knowlton  factory,  a  handsome  building 
of  stone,  which  he  had  recently  erected,  was  sw^pt 
awav,  with  all  its  machinery,  yarns,  and  goods.     The 


100 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


east  end  of  the  West  Braiieh  taetorv  was  carried 
away,  with  the  size-house,  water-wheel,  many  looms, 
-and  the  drv-honse,  containing  several  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth  of  yarns  and  goods.  At  Crozerville,  the 
cotton-house,  w^ith  thirty  bales  of  cotton,  was  swept 
away  by  the  flood,  and  some  of  tlie  machinery  was 
much  injured  by  submersion. 

With  his  accustomed  energy,  Mr.  C'rozer  entered  on 
the  work  of  repairing  diunagcs;  and  while  he  is  dis- 
posed to  accept  this  dispensation  of  Providence  as  a 
chastisement  for  hardness  of  heart  and  too  much  love 
of  the  world,  he  fears  that  his  spiritual  interests  will 
suffer  on  account  of  the  nuiltiplicity  of  cares  which 
now  press  upon  him. 

In  a  letter  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Campbell,  written  the 
following  day,  he  says  : 

"We  had  yesterday  afternoon  a  dreadful  freshet,  in 
which  our  loss  is  a  large  fortune.  But  before  T  0*0 
one  word  further,  I  will  say  that  we  are  yet  far  from 
being  poor;  and  we  desire,  rather  to  be  thankful  to 
God  for  what  is  left,  than  to  murmur  at  the  dispensa- 
tion which  has  taken  awav  fortv  thousand  dollars,  or 
perhaps  considerably  more  than  this  sum ;  for  I  have 
as  yet  made  no  estimate,  nor  can  I  at  present. 

"The  rain  commenced  heavily  yesterday  after  din- 
ner, and  by  five  o'clock  the  whole  flat  around  us  was 
one  entire  torrent,  swee[)ing  all  the  bridges  and  dams. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


101 


It  carried  awav  both  mv  mills  at  Knowlton,  with  all 
the  valuable  machinery  in  the  beautiful  stone  mill. 
The  mill  at  West  Branch  w^as  partly  carried  away, 
with  the  water-wheel,  gearing,  and  part  of  the  ma- 
chinerv.  Indeed  it  is  an  entire  wreck.  The  stone 
dry-house  and  office,  with  several  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  yarns  and  goods,  is  swept  away.  At  Crozer- 
ville the  cotton-house,  with  about  thirty  bales  of 
cotton,  is  carried  off,  the  machinery  in  the  low^er  room 
much  injured,  the  race  and  dam  nearly  destroyed,  and 
all  the  fences,  yards,  &c.,  torn  up. 

"The  other  mills  suffered  much  less  than  ours,  but 
several  dwelling-houses  were,  carried  aw^ay,  and — sor- 
rowful to  relate — one  family  of  three  grown  persons 
and  one  child  were  swept  down  and  })erished." 

Two  days  later  he  writes  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Lewis, 
that  she  might  have  definite  information  direct  from 
himself: 

"My  loss  of  property  is  very  great,  probably  little, 
if  any,  short  of  fifty  thousand  dollars ;  and  I  feel,  of 
course,  and  feel  deeply,  for  tliis  is  human  nature ;  but 
I  trust  and  believe  I  meet  it  with  the  resignation  of  a 
Christian  and  the  firmness  of  a  man  somewhat  accus- 
tomed to  vicissitudes  ;  and,  moreover,  though  I  have 
witnessed  the  result  of  years  of  diligent  application 
to  business  pass  away  in  a  tiew  hours,  yet  I  have  a 

considerable  fortune  left,  sufficient,  with  the  economy 

9  '^ 


102 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CBOZEB. 


which  we  have  hitherto  practised,  to  maintain  my 
family  genteelly. 

"I  have  not  yet  decided  what  I  shall  do  as  to  re- 
building. I  have  to-day  more  than  eighty  people  at 
work  cleaning  macliinery,  hunting  for  goods,  washing 
and  drying  them,  and  a  ])art  digging  a  channel  for 
the  creek.  Things  look  desolate  around  us,  but  far 
woi"se  at  West  Branch  and  Knowlton.  I  am  deei)ly 
occupied  in  arranging,  planning,  &c.,  so  as  to  make 
the  best  of  the  wreck." 

His  residence  was,  as  he  says,  "water-locked," 
so  that  he  could  not  send  off  this  letter  when  it 
was  written.  He  adds,  on  the  followino;  dav,  a  few 
lines  in  regard  to  his  operations : 

"I  am  organizing  strong  forces  for  work.  I  feel 
for  my  people,  some  of  whom,  I  think,  are  attached  to 
me,  or  to  my  places  and  })ay.  Our  vicinity  looks  dis- 
tressing. But  such  families  as  wish  immediate  employ 
can  readily  ^rct  work,  before  long,  at  other  factories. 

"I  feel,  although  a  cripi)le,  all  the  nerve  and  vigor 
of  former  days,  and  find  mvself  risinii:  little  bv  little  or 
rather  much  by  nuich,  to  meet  the  emergencv ;  but  not, 
I  hope,  to  lean  upon  or  trust  in  my  own  strength.  If  it 
please  God  to  give  me  healtli,  a  few  weeks  or  months 
will  do  much  to  restore  things  here ;  but  I  have  no 
expectation  or  intention  to  launch  into  mv  former  ex- 
tensive  business. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


108 


"I  am  as  calm  and  collected  as  I  ever  was  in  my 
life;  and,  indeed,  it  would  be  very  sinful  and  wicked 
in  me  did  a  repining  or  murmuring  thought  cross  my 
bosom.  I  am  not  conscious  that  such  a  feeling  has 
found  a  moment's  place  in  this  breast." 

In  another  letter  to  Mrs.  Campbell,  a  month  later, 
he  says:  "Our  vicinity  yet  presents  a  scene  of  deso- 
lation and  ruin,  though  much  has  been  done  in  labor 
to  restore  it.  My  Crozervillc  mill,  which  sustained 
comparatively  small  injury,  is  again  in  full  operation. 
West  Branch — poor,  old  West  Branch  ! — where  nearly 
all  of  our  property  was  earned,  is  yet  a  sad  place. 
The  large  wing  next  the  creek  is  clean  gone,  and  can- 
not be  rebuilt.  The  road  leading  towards  Crozer- 
villc all  washed  away,  and  a  new  road  has  to  be  cut 
in  the  hillside.  All  the  water-wheels,  mill-ofcarinff, 
with  one  corner  of  the  old  mill,  and  all  of  the  out- 
buildings, wdiether  of  stone  or  wood,  entirely  gone,  not 
a  vestige  remaining;  no  one  could  know  that  any 
such  buildings  had  ever  stood  there. 

"I  have  a  great  many  men  at  work,  both  me- 
chanics and  laborers,  and  hope  to  get  this  mill  going 
early  in  October.  But  it  will  be  long  before  it  can 
be  in  a  prosperous  train.  I  have  ordered  forty  new 
looms.  This  number,  with  all  that  is  saved  from 
West  Branch  and  Knowlton  mills,  will  not  be  suffi- 
cient to   fill   up   tlie  one  mill.     Knowlton  mills  are 


104 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


both  entirely  gone.  About  thirty  looms — collected, 
some  of  them,  a  mile  down  the  stream — are  worth 
repairing.  The  rest  are  dashed  to  pieces.  These 
works  I  shall  not  rebuild  at  present,  if  ever. 

"My  loss  was  greater  than  I  supposed  when  I 
wrote  to  you  last.  But  great  as  it  is,  I  am  not  a  poor 
man  by  any  means.  And  though  it  was  trying,  ex- 
tremely so,  to  have  the  earnings  of  years  pass  away 
in  a  few  hours,  I  feel  now  pretty  much  the  same  as 
though  it  were  not  gone.  The  loss  need  occasion  no 
change  in  our  mode  of  living,  not  even  in  our  little 
deeds  of  charitv,  and  can  onlv  be  felt  in  the  amount 
we  miirht  have  to  leave  our  children.  Your  sister 
bears  this,  as  indeed  she  does  every  sudden  visitation, 
with  becoming  firmness  and  resignation." 

The  destruction  of  the  Knowlton  factorv  was  fol- 
lowed  by  the  removal  of  the  families  employed  there; 
and  in  recording  their  removal  Mr.  Crozer  gives  us  a 
look  into  his  warm  heart : 

"  There  is  something  impressive  in  the  sudden 
breaking-up,  like  that  of  Knowlton;  and  the  scatter- 
\n*y  for  ever  of  a  little  community  of  work-peo])le, 
with  whom  I  had  pleasant  intcrconrso,  -maddened  my 
heart  almost  or  quite  as  much  as  the  loss  of  so  valua- 
ble an  estate.  I  really  fc(^l  an  interest  in  my  people, 
an  atfectionate  interest,  but  1  suppose  few  or  none 
of  them  think  so,  or  are  aware  of  it." 


^z"'*.'  -V  '■I'V  -•■'.-"•.-.'.-"j 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


105 


The  few  weeks  w^hich  immediately  followed  the 
great  flood  w^ere  peculiarly  trying  to  ^Ir.  Crozer. 
His  mills  w^ere  wholly  or  i)artially  wrecked.  The 
fragments  of  his  machinerv  were  scattered  along^  the 
course  of  the  stream.  He  savs,  more  than  two  weeks 
after  the  disaster:  "The  broken  machinery  scattered 
everywhere  makes  me  feel  very  unpleasantly.  I  wish 
that  all  which  cannot  be  repaired  were  removed  far 
from  my  sight.  Then  I  should  not  have  to  think  so 
much  abt)ut  it.  But  now  it  meets  my  eye  at  almost 
every  turn."  In  addition  to  all  this,  the  work  on  his 
house  was  in  progress,  making  his  home  itself  a  scene 
of  comj)arative  confusion.  As  the  weary  days  passed, 
we  find  such  entries  as  the  following: : 

"I,  as  well  as  my  son,  have  been  in  constant  attend- 
ance Avith  the  men.  Much  labor  has  been  done ;  but 
much  remains  yet  to  do.  The  amount  I  have  to 
accomplish  during  the  present  autumn,  to  get  my 
business  in  a  profitable  train,  appalls  me,  and  I  often 
feel  the  weight  as  almost  intolerable." 

"When  I  think  of  \\\q  amount  of  out-door  labor 
which  I  have  yet  on  hand,  and  of  the  near  approach 
of  cold  weather,  I  am  almost  discouraged.  Yet  each 
dav  makes  a  little  less  ;  and  bv-and-bv  all  Avill  no 
doubt  a^jpear  right  and  easy." 

In  view  of  the  unintermitted  pressure  of  business, 
it  is  not  strange  that  we  meet  shortly  after,  the  follow- 


106 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


ing  entn-  at  the  close  of  one  of  his  laborious  weeks : 
"This  forenoon  a  dizziness  came  over  me,  from  which 
I  have  not  yet  fully  recovered.  I  have  felt  a  fullness 
for  some  days.  I  was  much  alarmed  to-dav  and  came 
home.  I  felt  almost  afraid  of  falling  from  my  horse. 
Oh  what  a  poor  creature  I  am,  tied  down  to  business, 
a  slave !" 

Thus  in  recovering  from  the  effects  of  the  great 
freshet,  business  and  its  perplexities  sometimes  nearly 
overwhelmed  lum ;  yet  we  find  ^Nlr.  Crozer  rising 
above  such  affairs,  and  expressing  his  amazement  that 
life  and  its  temporal  concerns  should  take  such  hold 
of  a  person  of  his  years,  wh'>  has  already  much  of 
this  world's  goods  in  store :  "  It  has  long  been  the 
deep  conviction  of  my  mind  that  it  can  be  of  no 
benefit  to  my  children  to  have  more  than  a  very 
moderate  fortune."  And  in  this  connection  he  adds  : 
"I  yet  hope  that  some  field  of  usefulness,  of  a  spiritual 
nature,  may  open  to  me,  and  that  I  may  be  led  to 
enter  upon  it  with  zeal — not  with  blind  zeal,  but 
according  to  knowledge ;  an  honest  zeal  for  mv  divine 
Master,  and  a  sincere  and  prayerful  desire  to  be 
instrumental  in  spreading  a  love  for  the  Lord  and 
Saviour.'' 

During  the  autumn  of  this  vear  a  very  old  ladv, 
a  friend  of  his  mother,  had  been  visiting  at  Marcus 
Hook,   and   it   was   the   intention   of  Mr.   Crozer  to 


*    w  e>rr  V      '•""■»MP»W«ff"J-^'  '■PfM^WnplW 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


107 


invite  her  to  his  house ;  but  the  peculiar  condition  of 
things  prevented,  and  under  a  press  of  business  he 
had  postponed  a  call  till  she  was  about  returning  to 
the  citv. 

On  account  of  the  love  he  bore  his  mother  he 
wished  to  show  kindness  to  her  aged  friend,  and  he 
says,  '^  I  feel  self-condemned  in  not  having  visited  ere 
now  this  good  old  lady,  the  only  surviving  friend  of 
my  dear  departed  mother."  How  he  loved  and  re- 
vered his  mother  and  how  he  cherished  her  memory 
is  apparent  in  tlio.-e  thoughts  of  eternity  which  he 
occasionally  records:  '^I  have  this  afternoon,  while 
at  my  work,  been  much  engaged  in  reflection  upon 
death  and  eternitv — awful  subjects — but  yet  facts 
which  all  living  must  soon  realize.  I  thought  of  my 
revered  mother,  surely  a  saint  in  bliss.  Oh !  shall  I 
be  permitted  to  join  her  ?" 

Although  ^Ir.  Crozer  always  recognized  the  impor- 
tance of  intellectual  culture  and  o-rowth  in  o-race,  and 
was  impatient  at  remaining  stationary  in  these  par- 
ticulars, yet  in  December  of  this  year  we  find  this 
record : 

"  Business,  business,  business !  I  get  no  time  for 
reading,  even  in  the  evenings.  My  day  of  improve- 
ment seems  to  have  passed  by.  I  will  try  to  make 
some  use  of  the  experience  I  have  acquired,  and  to  be 
more  useful  to  others  during  the  remnant  of  my  days. 


108 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEO  ZEE. 


I  am  afraid  of  going-  deeply  into  business  again ;  it  is 
not  fear  of  pecuniary  loss,  but  of  giving  up  too  far  to 
the  engrossing  cares  of  life.  Xone  but  those  who 
have  been  deeply  engaged  in  business  know  how  hard 
it  is  to  keep  the  mind  properly  bahmced,  so  as  to 
avoid  yielding  to  the  absorbing  concerns  of  this  world. 
Well  did  our  Saviour  caution  us  against  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  riches,  and  declare  how  liardlv  thev  who 
have  them  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

In  the  Bible  and  Tract  Societies  of  the  county 
Mr.  Crozer  tliought  he  might  find  a  fiekl  of  useful- 
ness, and  be  able  to  speak  through  the  i)rinted  pages. 
He  therefore  took  an  active  interest  in  both  societies, 
giving  to  them  his  time,  his  influence,  and  his  money. 

He  spent  the  anniversary  of  his  birth,  in  1844,  in 
reading,  meditation, and  ])rayer;  which  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  resolution  he  had  made  two  years 
before : 

"  This  is  my  birthday.  I  have  completed  my  fifty- 
first  year.  The  past  year,  although  I  have  had  much 
to  make  it  more  tedious  than  most  of  its  predecessors, 
does  not  appear  long.  Upon  a  review  of  the  past 
year,  I  would  fain  believe  that  I  have  learned  some- 
thino-  to  advantajre.  Affliction  of  bodv  and  loss  of 
property  seals  home  the  truth,  that  vanity  is  inscribed 
upon  all  earthly  good.  I  will  not,  I  think,  again  dip 
so  deeply  into  business  as  to  destroy  my  own   leisure. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEO  ZEE. 


109 


but  will  work  through  others.  I  have  had  but  little 
leisure  since  the  great  freshet,  but  am  gradually 
arranging  for  my  own  ease;  yet  the  coming  year  I 
shall  have  much  to  attend  to,  if  I  am  spared.  I  will 
try,  through  divine  grace,  to  keep  my  mind  un- 
fettered. It  is  not  employment  which  is  injurious. 
On  the  contrary,  I  believe  an  active  life  is  best  for 
me.  But  I  must  labor,  and  wrestle,  and  pray  for 
assistance  to  keep  my  mind  unshackled  and  live  a  life 
of  prayer." 

A  few  days  subsequent  to  this  we  find  him  in 
attendance,  on  a  bitter  cold  day,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Bible  Society  of  the  county.  He  was  anxious  that 
work  should  be  done,  and  that  money  should  be 
raised  to  carry  the  work  forward.  He  made  an 
earnest  appeal  for  liberal  contributions.  But  most 
of  those  present  stood  aloof.  One  of  the  richest  men 
in  the  county  objected  to  so  much  giving  for  work 
abroad.  This  objection  had  more  weight  than  Mr. 
Crozer's  appeal.  In  referring  to  this  meeting,  Mr. 
Crozer  says : 

"I  have  ever  found  that  the  man  who  is  most 
anxious  to  provide  for  his  own  church  and  his  own 
vicinity,  and  who  gives  most  freely  for  these  purposes, 
has  a  hand  most  open  for  distant  charities.  Oh,  how 
selfish,  how  in  love  with  the  world,  how  indifferent  to 
the  cause  of  enlarged  benevolence  is  unregenerate  man  ! 

10 


110 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


And  duty  and  a  sense  of  tnitli  bid  me  record  the 
lamentable  fact,  that  the  visible  members  of  Christ's 
Church  are  deeply  tinctured — flir  too  deeply — with 
the  same  unholy  qualities. 

"  God  preserve  me  and  mine,  I  pray,  from  contracted- 
ness,from  f^eWfthness,  from  i/liberalitt/  of  pocl'et  or  mind. 
I  dare  not  cono:ratulate  mvself,  but  T  would  willintrlv 
feel  grateful  that  God  lias,  as  I  trust,  given  me  a 
warm,  feeling,  and  generous  heart,  ever  accessible  to 
sympathy,  and  that  he  has  blessed  me  with  the 
means  of  doing  some  good.  Let  me  strive  to  increase 
these  feelings.  Let  me  pray  for  judgment  to  discern 
what  objects  are  most  worthy  of  assistance.  And  let 
the  parsimonv  of  others  affect  me  onlv  bv  makiuir  me 
more  free  and  cheerful  in  my  gifts.'' 

The  prayer  which  he  offered  for  himself  was  heard, 
and  the  answer  makes  each  year  of  his  subsequent 
course  shine  more  brightly.  His  contributions  in- 
creased in  freedom  and  cheerfulness,  and  Avere  guided 
by  a  iir-seeing  wisdom.  The  prayer  for  his  familv 
has  also  been  largely  answered,  and  no  doubt  will 
continue  to  be,  even  until  the  end. 

Mr.  Crozer  did  not  read  for  ])astime  or  merelv  for 
the  improvement  of  his  mind.  Ho  ever  kept  in  view 
heart-culture.  When  reading  James'  "Christian  Pro- 
fessor,^'he  savs:  "I  see  much,  very  much,  in  this 
book  to  convince  me  that  my  standard  of  piety  is  far 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


Ill 


too  low.  I  will  try,  and  strive,  and  pray  for  assist- 
ance to  elevate  it."  And  again,  when  reading  the 
chapter  on  Prosperous  Professors,  he  says:  "I  find 
much  in  this  to  caution  me,  much  to  admonish  and 
create  alarm  at  the  thought  of  being  rich.  O  God  ! 
I  pray  thee,  make  me  feel  the  solemn  responsibility 
of  my  condition.  As  the  steward  of  large  and  in- 
creasing temporal  gifts  and  blessings,  give  me  a  dis- 
criminating judgment,  an  open  hand,  and  a  warm  and 
devoted  heart;  and  keep  me  from  a  hoarding,  covetous 
spirit." 

Of  the  Life  of  Andrew  Fuller,  he  savs:  "What  an 
indefatigable  man,  pressing  forward  amidst  heavy  and 
oft-repeated  family  afflictions,  and  many  other  dis- 
couragements! What  a  mass  of  labor  for  the  good 
of  his  fellows  and  the  glory  of  God !  Oh !  when  I 
review  my  life,  and  think  how  little  I  have  improved 
my  talent,  I  am  self-abased  and  deeply  grieved." 

The  cause  of  temperance  found  a  patron  and  advo- 
cate in  Mr.  Crozer.  He  was  always  ready  to  aid  the 
cause  in  any  practicable  way,  and  we  find  him,  in 
February  of  this  year,  joining  others  in  an  effort  to 
establish  a  temperance  hotel  at  Chester,  which  was 
greatly  needed.  He  was  always  present  at  the  quar- 
terlv  meetings  of  the  county  temperance  society,  and  we 
see,  in  his  endeavour  to  restore  a  by-law  requiring  the 
meetings  to  be  opened  with  prayer,  that  he  regarded 


112 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


the  favor  and  help  of  God  as  essential  to  the  success 
of  the  cause.  Notice  having  been  given  that  the 
cjuestion  of  restoring  the  by-law  would  come  up  at 
the  March  meeting  on  a  motion  made  by  Mr.  Crozer, 
he  prepared  a  written  speech,  which  he  read  on  the 
occasion.  There  was  much  discussion,  in  opposition 
to  the  motion,  as  well  as  in  its  flivor,  l)ut  the  law  was 
restored  by  a  small  majority. 

In  May  of  this  year,  Mr.  Crozer  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  Baptist  Triennial  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  made  himself  a  member  by  the  payment 
of  one  hundred  dollars.  That  year  slavery  was  dis- 
cussed both  in  the  Triennial  Convention,  and  at  the 
Home  Mission  Anniversarv,  and  the  decision  which 
was  reached  surprised  him.  The  question,  whether 
slaveholders  should  be  appointed  missionaries,  was 
decided  in  favor  of  their  appointment  by  nearly  two  to 
one,  and  on  that  decision  he  says:  "So  far  as  the 
assembly  could  do  so,  the  chains  were  riveted  more 
strongly  upon  the  unfortunate  blacks.  Oh !  is  Chris- 
tianity to  countenance  slavery?     I  heard  with  amaze- 

ment  the  ajred in  the  convention  vehemently 

declare,  that  slavery  was  not  a  moral  evil.  Yes,  this 
aged  minister  of  (he  gospel  pronounced  the  dreadful 
curse  of  the  nation  to  be  no  moral  evil !  It  is  to  me 
not  a  little  surprising  that  men,  in  no  w^ay  connected 
with  slavery,  should  be  so  ready  to  endorse  the  views 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


113 


of  the  slaveholder.  These,  in  my  opinion,  have  more 
to  answer  for  than  even  those  who  hold  their  fellow- 
creatures  in  bondage.  This  vexed  question  in  all 
probability  will  sooner  or  later  divide  the  Northern 
and  Southern  Baptists." 

Ten  months  after  this,  a  Quaker  friend  sent  him  a 
pamphlet  on  the  proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
in  reference  to  slavery.  He  said  of  this  pamphlet : 
"  I  am  highly  pleased  and  struck  with  the  prudence, 
the  calm  and  steady  perseverance,  the  slow,  careful, 
yet  un^vaveriiiff  determination  which  characterized 
these  conscientious  men,  until  they  accomplished  their 
object.  Would  to  God  .that  other  denominations 
patterned  after  them  in  C'hristian  prudence  and  steady 
aim !  And  oh,  that  all  that  name  the  name  of  Jesus 
would  depart  from  the  iniquity  of  holding  fellow- 
creatures  in  bondage  and  perpetual  servitude  !"    • 

When  the  enlargement  of  his  house  was  completed, 
and  the  question  came  up  how  it  should  be  furnished, 
we  see  Mr.  Crozer  exhibiting  his  habitual  conscien- 
tiousness. The  question  presented  to  his  mind  was 
not.  What  may  a  wealthy  manufacturer  do?  but 
this:  What  ought  a  Christian  to  do?  He  says  of 
himself  and  wife :  "We  both  value  consistency,  and  as 
professors  of  religion  it  becomes  us  to  seek  plainness 
and  simplicity  in  all  things.  I  do  not  fear  a  fine 
house  and  its  appendages  becoming  our  idol,  yet  it 


10  - 


H 


114 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


might  be  an  inquiry  how  far  a  Christian  ought  to 
gratify  himself  in  the  kixuries  of  life.  It  is  certain 
that  the  duties  of  charity  and  acts  of  benevolence 
increase  with  increasing  means ;  but  I  am  not  sure 
that  it  is  improper  to  indulge  in  matters  of  taste  in 
proportion  to  increased  wealth,  provided  acts  of 
liberality  bear  a  corresponding  increase." 

Mr.  Crozer  had  frequent  occasion  to  observe  how 
much  more  interest  some  professors  of  religion  took  in 
politics,  than  in  the  Bible,  tract,  or  temperance  cause; 
and  how  much  more  ready  they  were  to  give  money 
to  advance  the  cause  of  a  party,  than  tliey  were  to 
help  extend  the  cause  of  Christ.  During  the  Presi- 
dential campaign  this  summer  and  autumn,  he  said  : 
"Politics  are  the  all-absorbing  subject,  and  religion  is 
scarcely  spoken  of,  much  less  felt.  Men's  minds  are 
callous  to  every  good  impression,  and  I  much  fear 
that  vice  and  immortality  have  spread  in  tlie  past 
year  through  the  instrumentality  of  political  con- 
ventions.'' 

Though  he  had  a  direct  pecuniary  interest  in  some 
of  the  political  questions  at  issue,  he  wished  all 
temporal  interests  to  be  subordinate  to  spiritual ; 
Christ  all  and  in  all.  He  took  no  active  part  in  the 
campaign,  yet  he  laments  that  he  sees  in  himself 
"little  or  no  growth  in  grace,  little  or  no  increase  in 
spirituality  of  mind  or  deadness  to  the  world." 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


115 


On  the  22d  of  November  he  attended  a  meeting, 
when  several  ministers  spoke  on  the  importance  of 
secret  devotion.  He  makes  this  utterance  on  the 
subject :  "  Oli  that  this  poor  heart  of  mine  were  more 
engaged  in  private  prayer,  and  that  I  might  more 
frequently  and  voluntarily  be  drawn  to  pour  out  my 
soul  in  secret  to  God !"  And  short! v  after  this  he 
made  the  following  entry :  "As  a  general  rule,  I  hope 
I  shall  never  fail  to  attend  public  worship :  a  neglect 
to  do  this  would  almost  certainly  make  me  neglectful 
of  private  devotion ;  the  one  is  a  great  aid  to  the 
other.  The  closet  is  essential  to  the  profitable  exor- 
cise of  -public  worship,  and  on  the  other  hand  a 
voluntary  neglect  of  public  worship  would  almost 
certainly  be  followed  by  a  neglect  of  private  devo- 


tion." 

Notwithstanding  the  care  of  an  extensive  Inisiness, 
and  the  duty  he  so  faithfully  discharged  in  his  own 
family,  Mr.  Crozer  found  time  to  visit  tlie  sick,  give 
them  his  sympathy,  and  pray  with  them.  Repeated 
cases  of  the  kind  are  entered  in  his  diarv.  The 
blacksmith  who  came  to  his  assistance  at  the  time 
his  thigh  was  broken  was  repeatedly  visited  during 
an  illness  which  proved  mortal.  A  tenant,  dying  of 
consumption,  was  visited,  carefully  questioned,  and 
instructed  in  reo-ard  to  the  wav  of  life.  Just  before  he 
departed  he  told  his    friends   that  he  did  not  think 


116 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


he  was  converted  till  after  Mr.  Crozer's  last  visit. 
In  reference  to  that  statement,  ]Mr.  Crozer,  with 
accustomed  modesty,  says:  "He  must,  I  think,  have 
meant  that  he  only  then  felt  more  confidence  and  a 
stronger  fiiith."  Januarv  19th  this  entrv  is  made: 
"I  yesterday  visited,  conversed,  and  prayed  with  the 

H family— one  of  my  tenants — the  female  head 

of  which  is  confined  to  her  bed,  in  a  decline."  May 
9th,  after  making  a  call  on  this  woman,  he  speaks  of 
her  as  "now  apparently  near  the  end.  She  seems 
resigned,  and  on  a  late  occasion,  when  I  was  with  her, 
she  was  mther  anxious  to  depart.  Until  recentlv  she 
was  alarmed  at  the  nearness  of  death ;  I)ut  seems  now 
to  be  calm  and  without  fear."  And  he  adds  in  this 
connection:  "Oh,  how  unfitted  am  I  to  administer 
consolation  to  a  dying  believer !  Oh  that  I  possessed 
a  deeper  piety  in  my  own  soul !" 

These  brief  extracts  are  made  to  show  that  as  a 
Christian  Mr.  Crozer  recognized  no  distinctions  of 
calling  or  social  position  ;  but  the  sympathies  of  his 
kind  and  generous  nature  went  out  to  "everv  crea- 

ft-' 

ture,"  in  the  fullness  of  the  great  commission. 

It  was  the  desire  of  Mr.  Crozer  that  his  children 
should  be  Iiaj)py  in  the  enjoyment  of  innocont  ])leas- 
ure.  The  older  children  passed  their  "(  liristmas 
holidays"  in  the  city,  to  which  fact  he  alludes  when 
lie  says :  "  I   love  to  contribute  to  the  eniovment  of 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


117 


my  children,  but  the  old  are  too  unwilling  to  make 
proper  allowances  for  the  young ;  and  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  determine  how  far  one  should  indulge  them  in 
their  minority ;  either  extreme  is  dangerous.  I  feel 
that  I  live,  in  part  at  least,  for  my  children ;  and  I 
therefore  would  seek  their  permanent  benefit  in  all 
my  plans ;  and  hope,  while  I  seek  their  temporal  good, 
I  shall  not  be  inattentive  to  their  spiritual  interests." 
The  entry  which  the  subject  of  this  memoir  made 
the  day  he  entered  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age 
shows  how  earnestlv  he  desired  increase  of  holiness 
and  usefulness:  "I  wish  to  spend  much  time  to-day 
in  self-examination  and  prayer,  and  in  humiliation 
before  God.  Oh,  how  consoling  it  would  be,  could  I, 
upon  a  review  of  the  past,  be  clearly  satisfied  that  I 
had  subdued  any  untoward  propensity  in  the  past 
vear ;  that  more  enlarixed  benevolence  had  ruled  in  mv 
breast;  and  especially,  that  the  love  of  God  had  more 
abounded  in  my  heart !  But,  alas  !  I  cannot  see  anv 
perceptible  change,  and  almost  fear  that  tliere  has  been 
a  retrograde  movement.  O  Thou,  who  knowest  all 
things,  look  uj)on  a  weak,  sinful  man  in  mercy ;  aid 
by  thy  Holy  Spirit,  and  lead  me  to  the  cross !  Oh, 
point  out  my  duty,  and  give  me  firm  purpose  of  mind, 
that  I  may,  with  unshaken  resolve,  walk  in  thy  ways ! 
Oh,  direct  me  in  the  year  I  am  about  to  commence ! 
And  if  I  am  spared,  may  the  fifty-tliird  year  of  mj! 


118 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


life  be  one  which  shall  manifest  much  growth  in 
grace  and  greatly  increased  usefulness  in  thy  churcli. 
Keep  me  humble;  so  humble  and  meek  before  thee, 
that  thou   wilt   not   find   it   necessary  to  chasten  me 

* 

with  affliction.  Open  some  path  of  increased  useful- 
ness, that  I  may  not  live  in  vain;  enable  me  to  con- 
secrate myself  and  mine  to  thy  service.  I  especially 
feel  the  want  of  a  stronger  faith,  and  I  shall  labor 
and  wrestle  and  asj^onize  for  an  increase  of  this  excel- 
lent  grace.  O  my  God !  help  my  unbelief;  strengthen 
my  weak  faith ;  enable  me  to  see  thee  as  my  Lord 
and  my  God,  my  Iledeemer,  my  all !" 

In  February,  1845,  ^Ir.  Crozer  purchased  the 
Flower  estate,  which  was  situated  about  two  miles 
from  Chester.  It  consisted  of  sixtv-five  acres  of 
ground,  beautifully  located  upon  Chester  Creek,  with 
a  fine  mill-seat.  He  gave  to  this  new  property  the 
name  of  Upland.  This  purchase  gave  full  play  to 
that  love  for  building  and  imj)r()ving  which  was 
characteristic  of  him  ;  yet  in  anticipating  the  pleasure 
he  would  derive  from  his  favorite  employment,  he 
says:  "I  feel  the  necessity  of  constant  striving  to 
keep  my  affections  from  being  too  much  fastened  on 
this  life.  Oil,  how  fascinating  arc  the  interests  of 
time,  and  how  prone  we  are  to  keep  eternity  in  the 
background!  How  hard  to  live  for  two  worlds; 
how  I  need  aid  from  on  high  to  enable  me  to  do  so!" 


•nv*""    *        loti  . 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


119 


Mr.  Crozer  was  not  exempt  from  the  annoyances 
and  vexations  which  are  inseparable  from  the  employ- 
ment of  unskilled  mechanics  and  blunderinir  laborers 
some  of  whom  will  almost  always  be  found  in  a  large 
gang  of  hands.     His  ^' fiery  temper,"  as  he  called  it, 
would  sometimes  for  a  moment  gain  the  mastery,  and 
then  he  would  say  something  to  a  workman  which  he 
would  immediately  regret,  and,  at  his  leisure,  mourn 
over.     This  liability  to  be  thrown  off  his  balance  was 
a  cause  of  great  grief  to   him,  and  a    matter  about 
which  he  called  himself  to  strict  account.     In  March, 
1845,  he  made  this  entry:  "To-day  I  feel  truly  un- 
comfortable ;  suffered  my  temper  to  get  the  better  of 
me  in  matters  with  my  millwrights.     I  showed  much 
temper ;  and  though  I  perhaps  had  cause,  I  feel  that 
this  does  not  excuse  me.     I  have  to  the  principal 
workman    expressed    regret    that    I    became   anjrrv. 
This  I  did  out  of  regard  to  my  own  character;  yet,  at 
the  same  time,  I  think,  he  w^as  convinced  that  cause 
for  offence  was  given  me.     But  how  shall  I  account 
to  my  God?     How  shall  I  convince  him  that  I  have 
not  greatly  sinned,  and  acted  in  a  manner  unbecominir 
a  Christian  ?     Oh,  I  fear  that  I  shall  never  overcome 
this  rash  temper !     Shame  on  me  that  religion,  and 
reason,  and  age— all  combined— do  not  soften,  and 
soothe,  and  calm  my  fiery  temper !" 

Mr.  Crozer  had  received  a  letter  of  dismission  from 


120 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


the  First  Bai)tist  Church  in  Philadelphia,  and  now, 
April  12th,  1845,  he  took  it  to  the  Marcus  Hook 
Church,  and  became  a  member  there.  Of  this  matter 
he  says:  "I  have  certainly  been  a  profitless  member 
of  the  First  Church  in  Philadelphia,  and  fear  that  I 
shall  scarcely  be  more  profitable  to  the  :Marcus  Hook 
Church,  except  in  a  pecuniary  way,  which  is  certainly 
the  lowest  grade  of  usefulness  in  a  Christian  church. 
Oh  that  I  were  more  spiritually-minded !"  Notwith- 
standing this  low  estimate  of  himself,  he  shortly  after 
attended  meeting  at  Marcus  Hook  on  Sunday,  and 
there  being  no  minister,  he  took  a  part  in  the  prayer- 
meeting,  as  he  expresses  it,  "in  much  weakness." 

Mr.  Crozer's  reputed  wealth  attracted  to  him  the 
ao'cnts  of  various  religious  and  benevolent  enterprises, 
and  not  unfrequently  those  who  had  no  just  claim  on 
him.  On  one  occasion,  having  subscribed  to  an  en- 
terprise of  the  latter  sort,  and  afterwards  hearing  that 
he  had  been  expected  to  give  more  than  he  had  sub- 
scribed, he  made  this  entry  in  his  diary:  "Rich  men 
nuist  not  expect  to  be  thanked  for  their  charities,  but 
must  generally  expect  the  reverse  of  gratitude." 

The  education  of   his   children  was  a  subject  on 
^'hich  Mr.  Crozer  always  exhibited  the  greatest  solici- 
tude.    Himself  a  great  lover  of  books,  he  wished  to 
''.xcite  in  them  a  similar  taste;  and  as  the  long  eve- 
nings of  winter  approached,  he  arranged  plans  for  a 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


121 


course  of  reading.  He  says :  "  My  beloved  family 
will  be  my  chief  society  this  winter.  AYe  hope  to 
spend  the  season  jn-ofitably,  and  have  laid  plans  for 
reading,  (fee."  He  gave  his  children  the  advantage 
of  attending  lectures  on  scientific  subjects,  and  occa- 
sionally attended  such  lectures  with  them. 

In  the  autumn  of  1845  a  lady  from  New  England 
was  engaged  as  governess,  and  the  education  of  the 
children  entrusted  to  her  care;  and  when  they  arrived 
at  a  proper  age  to  leave  home  they  were  placed  in  the 
best  schools  in  the  city. 

This  winter  a  law-suit,  in  which  Mr.  Crozer  Avas 
a  witness,  was  tried ;  and  he  gives  some  good,  sensible 
advice  on  the  subject  of  going  to  law  with  a  neighbor: 
"  I  have  seen  so  much  of  the  uncertainty  of  law  that 
I  must  always  prefer  amicable  modes  of  settlement 
to  contests  of  this  kind.  I  would  rather  suffer  con- 
siderable wrong  than  enter  into  litigation.  God  pre- 
serve me  and  mine  from  a  spirit  of  contention."  And, 
after  the  verdict  was  rendered,  he  said :  "  The  attend- 
ance upon  this  case  confirms  me  in  a  former  opinion, 
that  it  is  best  to  settle  disputes  without  resort  to  law." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1846,  a  series  of 
missionary  meetings  was  held,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the 
interest  of  the  Missionary  Union,  at  which  Dr.  Jud- 
son  was  present,  and  also  the  missionaries  Abbott  and 
Kincaid.     Mr.  Crozer  was   present  at  one  of  these 


n 


122 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


meetings,  held  in  Sansom  Street  Church,  and  made 
himself  a  life  member  of  the  Union.  Afterward  he 
had  a  private  interview  with  Dr.  Judson.  This  in- 
terest in  foreign  missions  was  deepened  by  all  he 
heard,  and  he  pledged  to  Dr.  Judson  his  prayers  and 
contributions — a  pledge  which  he  faithfully  kept. 

His  birthday,  January  13th,  1846,  was  spent  in. 
retirement ;  he  occupied  a  part  of  the  time  in  read- 
ing James'  "Christian  Professor."  In  recording  his 
thoughts  on  the  teachings  of  that  book,  he  says :  "  It 
is  a  mirror  exhibitino^  manv  of  mv  shortcominjrs  and 
much  of  mv  sinfulness.  In  reading  in  rcfjard  to  the 
duties  of  a  prosperous  j)rofessor  in  worldly  matters, 
I  feel  self-condemned.  I  am  not  given  up  to  pomp 
and  pleasure;  I  have  not,  perhaps,  become  proud  and 
haughty,  nor  enslaved  to  the  love  of  money.  But  I 
am  worldlv-minded,  and  liave  mv  affections  fastened 
down  to  life.  I  find  no  o-reat  difficultv  in  ffivin<r  of 
my  increase,  though  I  pr()l)al)ly  do  not  give  as  I 
ought  to  do.  But  this  is  easy  to  do;  easy  for  tlie 
man  out  of  his  thousands  of  increase  to  ffive  a  few 
hundreds.  There  is  even  a  duncjcr  here,  for  a  man 
mav  thus  satisfv  in  a  measure  his  conscience,  and 
suppose  he  has  then  rendered  an  equivalent.  The 
great  danger  of  rapidly-increasing  wealtli  to  a  Chris- 
tian m  not,  iu  mj  vieir,  that  of  covetousness,  so  much 
as  that  of  being  so  much  occupied  in  worldly  things  as 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


123 


to  lose  all  relish  and  love  for  devotional  exercises.  I 
love  to  give  of  my  substance;  I  trust  I  should  find 
pleasure  in  giving,  if  no  human  eye  beheld,  or  ear 
heard  of  my  doings." 

On  this  occasion,  in  reviewing  his  life,  he  speaks  in 
the  tenderest  manner  of  his  wife,  describing  her  as 
"my  dear  partner,  with  whom  I  have  now  lived  in 
the  utmost  harmony  and  love  for  nearly  twenty-one 
years,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  no  woman  could  have 
done  more  to  make  me  happy."  At  another  time, 
he  writes:  "Amono^st  the  chiefest  of  mv  causes  for 
gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  his  unmerited  })less- 
ings,  I  must  ever  place  in  the  front  and  foreground 
my  beloved  partner  in  life.  Her  domestic  virtues  I 
hold  to  be  unsurpassed.  She  makes  our  home  cheer- 
ful and  invitinc:,  so  that  it  is  now  externallv  and  inter- 
nally  a  lovely  home,  and  such  as  a  prince  might 
covet."  Again  he  says:  "Oh  that  all  our  dear  family 
had  the  sweet  and  humble  piety  of  their  mother! 
This  excellent  woman  becomes  more  and  more  dear 
to  me.     I  delight  to  honor  her." 

When  the  balance-sheet  for  the  year  1845  was  made 
up,  and  he  saw  how  very  great  the  profits  were,  he 
says:  "With  all  the  profits,  I  feel  a  pang  and  a 
want  of  entire  satisfaction.  The  inquiries.  What  does 
it  avail  to  myself,  or  what  will  it  avail  to  my  family  ? 
— what  increased  good  am  I  doing  w'ith  my  increased 


124 


LIFE  OF  JOBS  P.  VROZER. 


fortune? — how  am  I  purposing  to  account  for  my 
stewardship  f  these  inquiries  force  themselves  upon 
me,  and  I  dare  not  put  them  away.  God  enable  me 
to  meet  these  inquiries  promptly,  and  suffer  me  not 
to  grow  more  hard-hearted  than  I  now  am;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  open  the  kindly  feelings  of  my  soul,  and 
inspire  me  with  love  and  benevolence  and  every 
Christian  grace." 

Mr.  Crozer  felt  that  wealth  was  a  trust  committed 
to  him  by  the  Giver  of  all  good,  and  that  he  must  act 
in  view  of  that  day  when  he  would  be  called  to  give 
an  account  of  this  trust.  Whenever  he  makes  a  re- 
view of  his  life,  this  idea  of  a  stewardship  is  upper- 
most in  his  mind. 

Early  in  the  next  year  he  says :  "  One  part  of  duty 
appears  clear  to  me  and  unmistakable,  viz.,  that  I 
ought  to  honor  God  more  with  my  substance.  I 
have  a  large  fortune :  it  becomes  an  inquiry,  How  far 
I  should  suffer  it  to  increase  when  so  many  objects  of 
charity  are  abroad  ?^^ 

A  remark  made  by  a  mechanic  caused  Mr.  Crozer 
to  suspect  that  it  was  possible  he  had  not  treated  a 
neighbor  with  proper  consideration.  He  says:  "Late 
as  it  is  in  life,  I  wish  to  cultivate  more  and  more  a 
Christian  spirit — to  feel  more  and  more  kindly  to  my 
fellow-creatures;"  and,  in  view  of  his  necessity  in 
these  particulars,  he  gives  expression  to  his  feelings 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


125 


i 


i 


in  this  prayer:  "O  Thou!  before  whom  I  must  give 
an  early  account,  cleanse  this  selfish  heart,  give  me  a 
deeper  and  more  intimate  knowledge  of  my  unworthi- 
ness;  make  me  more  ready  to  acts  of  kindness,  more 
ready  to  abase  myself;  keep  me  from  bitterness  toward 
others.  May  I  be  able  to  see  myself  in  the  liglit  in 
which  I  am  viewed,  not  by  my  fellow-creatures,  but 
by  thee,  my  Creator  and  my  God,  that  I  may  pros- 
trate myself  before  thee  in  the  depths  of  humiliation." 

Prior  to  1847,  Mr.  Crozer  makes  frequent  mention 
of  his  eldest  son,  Sanmel,  on  whose  shoulders  he 
hoped,  by-and-by,  to  lay  a  part  of  the  burden  of  his 
extensive  business.  In  his  diary  this  son  is  fre- 
quently mentioned  as  going  abroad  on  business, 
sometimes  in  company  with  his  father,  and  often  to 
Philadelphia  in  the  place  of  his  father.  At  certain 
crises  tlie  father  finds  himself  unconsciously  leaning 
upon  him;  and  now,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1847,  he 
receives  him  into  partnership,  he  having  reached  his 
majority  a  few  days  before. 

As  usual,  at  the  beginning  of  a  year,  after  his  books 
were  written  up  and  the  balance-sheet  spread  out 
before  liim,  Mr.  Crozer  speaks  of  the  increase  of  his 
property,  and  of  the  fact  that  wealth  does  not  neces- 
sarily bring  substantial  and  satisfying  pleasure.  He 
says :  "  I  feel  much  of  the  vanity  and  deceit  of  riches. 
Much  more,  I  think,  than  formerly;  and  yet,  strange 


11 


126 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER, 


to  tell,  I  am  still  anxious  to  liave  profitable  returns. 
Were  not  this  in  conformity  with  the  testimony  of 
other  rich  men,  I  should  write  myself  down  as  diifer- 
ing  from  all  others.  To  feel  the  utter  worthlessness 
of  riches,  and  yet  all  the  time  to  be  making  haste  to 
be  rich,  is  a  strange  feature  in  human  nature,  or,  at 

7  7 

least,  in  mine." 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  purchase,  in 
1845,  of  the  Flower  estate,  to  which  Mr.  Crozer  had 
given  the  name  of  Upland.  At  the  time  of  its  pur- 
chase he  had  little  expectation  of  making  it  his  home. 
It  had  been  bought  mainly  for  its  water-power.  But, 
with  advancing  years,  Mr.  Crozer  felt  increasingly  the 
length  of  his  ride  from  Crozerville  to  the  cars  at  Ches- 
ter, and  had  decided  on  the  erection  of  a  spacious 
mansion  at  Upland  as  a  home  for  his  familv.  This 
mansion  was  now  completed,  the  surrounding  grounds 
laid  out,  and  the  planting  of  flowers  and  shade  trees 
.commenced.     Although  the  new  place  Avas  beautiful 

— probably  the  most  beautiful  in  Delaware  County 

as  the  time  drew  near  for  his  removal  from  a  home 
where,  and  at  AYest  Branch,  he  had  passed  twenty- 
two  of  the  most  eventful  years  of  his  life,  he  says : 
"I  feel  somewhat  sad  at  the  thoudit  of  leavino-  a 
place  with  which  are  coupled  so  many  of  the  leading 
events  of  my  life.  We  have  a  fine  house,  gardens, 
and  shrubbery,  with  mountain  or  hill  scenery :  well 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


127 


may  visitors  to  this  our  happy  home  inquire  why  we 
remove." 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1847,  the  removal  was 
effected — "a  day  of  pensiveness,  if  not  of  gloom," 
says  Mr.  Crozer.  Crozerville  and  West  Branch  both 
remained  in  his  possession,  and  his  business  called 
him  weekly  amid  their  much-loved  scenes;  but  the 
story  of  his  life  is  henceforth  to  be  associated  with 
the  place  of  his  longer  residence  and  his  larger  useful- 
ness at  Upland. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEB. 


129 


CHAPTER  X. 


HOME    AT    UPLAND. 


1847  —  1866. 

TTPLAND  is  beautifully  situated  upon  Chester 
^  Creek,  about  two  miles  from  its  entrance  into  the 
Delaware.  It  is  within  the  limits  of  the  ancient 
town  of  Chester.  Chester  was  settled  bv  the  Swedes, 
in  the  year  1643;  and  has  the  distinction  of  being: 
the  oldest  town  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Eng- 
lish settlers  had  found  their  way  among  the  Swedes 
before  the  arrival  of  William  Penn,  and  landings  by 
the  English  had  also  been  effected  on  the  Delaware 
both  above  and  below  the  original  site  of  Chester. 
Indeed,  as  early  as  1640,  Puritans  from  Connecticut, 
desirous  ^'of  planting  churches  after  a  godlv  sort" 
and  "to  trade  and  traffic  with  the  Indians  alonc^ 
Delaware  Bay,"  made  a  {)urchase  of  land  for  thirty 
pounds  sterling,  transported  thither  about  fifty  fami- 
lies, and  erected  trading-houses. 

This  curious  connection   between   j)iety  and  trade 
illustrates  a  trait  not  yet  wholly  eradicated  from  Con- 

]2S 


i 

■  I 


4 


necticut  character.  It  is  much  in  the  vein  of  a  letter 
to  Secretary  Walsingham  from  the  good  old  navigator 
Captain  Davis,  who,  with  a  simplicity  that  is  quite 
refreshing,  says:  "If  these  people  (the  Indians  of 
America)  were  once  brought  over  to  the  Christian 
faith,  they  might  soon  be  brought  to  relish  a  more 
civilized  kind  of  life,  and  be  thereby  induced  to 
take  off  great  quantities  of  our  coarser  woolen  manu- 
factures." 

It  was  probably  this  party  of  New  Englanders 
whose  progress  awakened  the  attention  of  William 
Kieft,  the  Dutch  Governor  of  New  Amsterdam,  wdio, 
in  1642,  fitted  out  two  sloops  to  drive  the  English 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Schuvlkill. 

Up  to  the  time  of  Penn's  arrival,  in  October,  1682, 
Chester  had  been  known  by  the  name  of  Upland,  but 
it  was  to  bear  that  name  no  more.  Without  reflection, 
it  is  hoped,  Penn  determined  that  the  name  of  the 
place  should  be  changed.  On  the  very  day  of  his 
arrival — a  day  that  is  not  certainly  known'^' — he 
turned  to  his  friend  Pearson,  who  had  accompanied 

*  Neither  the  exact  date  nor  the  manner  of  Penn's  landing  at 
Upland  is  certainly  known,  though  authors  have  been  lavish  in 
their  descriptions  of  the  event.  His  letter  to  Ephraim  Hermann, 
dated  at  "Upland"  on  the  "29th  of  October,"  1682,  shows  that  he 
had  then  arrived,  but  it  may  have  been,  and  probably  was,  only 
the  day  before. 


130 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


him  in  the  ship  "AVclcomc"  from  England,  and  said  : 
"Providence  lias  brought  us  liere  safe.  Thou  hast 
been  the  companion  of  my  perils.  AVhat  wilt  thou 
that  I  should  call  this  yAixqgV^  Pearson  answered 
"Chester,"  in  remembrance  of  the  citv  from  whence 
he  came.  Penn  replied  that  it  should  be  called 
Chester/^  Thus,  under  the  influence  of  a  momentary 
feeling,  the  name  of  the  oldest  town  in  the  province, 
with  its  memories  of  fortv  vears,  was  effaced  for  ever. 
It  has  been  well  remarked,  in  this  connection,  that 
"Great  men  occasionally  do  little  things." 

Perhaps  no  spot  in  the  vicinity  of  Chester  was  so 
well  worthy  to  receive  and  perpetuate  its  ancient 
name  as  the  estate  to  which  Mr.  Crozer  had  now 
removed :  for  while  it  lay  within  the  boundaries  of 
Swedish  Upland,  it  was  also  seized  upon  at  once,  on 
the  arrival  of  Penn  and  his  company,  for  the  advan- 
tages of  its  water-power,  and  is  associated  with  some 
of  the  oldest  memories  of  their  early  settlement. 

The  celebrated  "Chester  Mills,"  which  were  framed 
in  England,  and  came  to  this  country  in  the  "Wel- 
come" with  William  Penn,  were  erected  in  1683, 
within  the  limits  of  the  Upland  estate.  Xext  to  the 
old  "Swedes'  Mill,"  upon  Cobb^s  Creek,  this  was  the 
oldest  mill  in  the  province.    Traces  of  its  dam  are  still 


*  Clarkson's  Life  of  William  Penn,  i.  259;  Haz.  Annals,  695. 


I 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


131 


visible.*  The  dwelling-house  of  Caleb  Pusey,  the 
agent  and  manager  of  the  mills,  built  also  in  1683,  is 
still  standing  upon  the  property.  It  is  probably  the 
oldest  dwelling-house  in  the  State.  Mr.  Crozer  was 
certainly  happy  in  his  choice  when  he  called  his  new 
pro[)erty  Upland. 

On  the  change  of  his  residence  from  Crozerville  to 
Upland,  he  was  careful  that  the  removal  should  result 
in  no  serious  loss  of  religious  privileges.  In  April 
preceding,  he  had  commenced  at  Upland  a  building 
to  be  used  temporarily  as  a  plan  of  worship  and  also 
for  the  meeting  of  a  Sunday-school.  While  he  men- 
tions this,  he  also  alludes  to  his  plan  for  a  better 
house.  "I  hope,"  he  says,  ^^lereafter,  to  erect  a 
building  to  be  dedicated  exclusively  to  the  worship 
of  the  living  God.  The  present  upper  room  may 
suflice  for  a  short  season."  This  hope  he  Avas  per- 
mitted to  realize,  as  will  appear  in  the  course  of  the 
narrative. 

Mr.  Crozer  had  a  special  concern  for  one  of  the 
ordinances  of  the  Lord,  which  has  often  been  sadly 
neglected  by  the  churches.  He  had  read  in  the 
Scriptures,  "Even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained,  that 
they   which    preach    the  gospel   should    live    of  the 

*  A  deed  of  this  mill,  executed  in  1705,  reciting  the  facts  of  its 
establishment,  and  tiie  partnership  under  \vliich  it  was  owned, 
niav  be  found  in  the  Recorder's  office  at  Westchester,  Book  B.  1. 


132 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CBOZER. 


gospel ;"  and  he  thought  that  whatsoever  the  Lord  had 
ordained  should  be  carfuUy  observed  bv  the  churches. 
In  the  spring  of  1847  he  refers  to  this  subject,  and 
savs :  "It  is  to  be  rescretted  that  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  should  have  to  resort  for  his  support  to  any 
pursuit  not  connected  with  the  preaching  of  the  word. 
Yet  so  it  is  very  often.  Their  usefulness  is  thus  in 
danjrer  of  being;  weakened  or  destroyed.  Would  to 
God  that  the  churches  would  better  support  the  min- 
isters of  the  gospel  !'^  Thus,  before  he  held  any  office 
in  the  church,  he  was  alive  to  one  of  the  general 
sources  of  discomfort  and  weakness  in  the  ministry. 
In  subsequent  days,  when  he  w^as  called  to  the  office 
of  a  deacon,  he  was  always  careful  to  see  that  every 
reasonable  provision  was  made  for  the  support  and 
comfort  of  the  pastor. 

Soon  after  his  establishment  in  the  new  home,  Mr. 
Crozer,  with  his  daughters  Margaret  and  Elizabeth, 
started  on  a  tour  through  IVIiddle  Pennsylvania,  visit- 
ing, in  the  course  of  his  journey,  the  grave  of  Dr. 
Priestley,  at  Northumberland  ;  and  Lewisburg,  the 
chosen  seat  of  a  university,  to  the  founding  of  which 
he  had  already  subscribed,  and  to  whose  endowment 
he  afterwards  became  the  largest  contributor.  At 
this  place  he  spent  two  entire  days,  viewing  the  town, 
the  site  for  the  buildings,  and  mingling  Avith  the  peo- 
ple.    The  result  of  his  visit  he  thus  records:    "At 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


133 


first,  I  did  not  think  well  of  the  location  or  of  the 
&(;heme;  but  now  I  am  better  pleased.  Buffalo 
Valley,  in  which  Ixnvisburg  stands,  is  fertile  and  well 
cultivated.  It  is  a  beautiful  country.  And  the  in- 
habitants of  Lewisburg  are  more  enterprising  than 
those  of  any  town  along  the  river.  I  hope  the  uni- 
versity may  be  an  lionor  to  the  denomination,  and 
redound  to  the  glory  of  God.'' 

This  was  a  busy  year  with  Mr.  Crozer,  and  as  he 
neared  its  close,  he  wrote:  "I  have  much  reason  to 
fear  that  a  fine  house  and  large  possessions  may  liave 
retarded  mv  growtli  in  the  divine  life  and  kept  me 
barren  and  unfruitful.  Oh  that  I  were  more  under 
the  law  of  Christ,  more  spiritually-minded,  and  less 
the  servant  of  sin  !  Worldly-mindedness,  alas !  keeps 
down  Christian  graces,  and  blunts  the  finer  faculties 
of  the  soul."  We  find  him  grieving  much  over  the 
absence  of  spirituality  of  mind,  and  the  fact  that 
during  the  past  year  he  had  been  of  so  little  use  in 
the  cause  of  Christ. 

His  diary  gives  abundant  proof  of  his  deep  and 
wise  concern  for  the  culture  of  his  children.  He 
says:  "The  education  and  training  of  my  children  will 
require  much  of  my  attention,  and  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  attend  to  them  more  than  I  have  hitherto  done. 
I  desire  to  give  them  a  religious  training,  without 
severity   or  too   much    restraint."     We   notice,   after 

12 


« 


134 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


tliis  record,  that  he  becomes  especially  observant  of 
anything  that  might  furnisli  tliem  healthful  amuse- 
ment or  give  them  valuable  instruction.  It  was  a 
T^art  of  his  system  of  family  trainino;  thus  to  care  for 
their  pleasure  and  profit.  We  find  him  going  with 
his  younger  sons  "to  see  a  child  fifteen  years  old, 
twenty -seven  inches  high,  and  weighing  fifteen 
pounds.  He  is  healthy  and  well  ibrmed;  he  sings, 
talks,  walks,  dances,  and  runs;  and  is  altogether  a 
remarkable  personage.  But  I  cannot  much  approve 
of  the  public  exhibition  of  this  poor  child,  happy  as 
he  appears  to  be.  My  dear  little  boys,  however,  were 
much  pleased,  and  ^General  Thomas  Thuml).'  T  pre- 
sume, will  always  live  in  their  memory.'' 

About  the  same  time  he  visited,  with  his  daughters, 
the  Chinese  Museum  in  Philadelphia.  After  describ- 
ing the  exhibition  with  a  minuteness  that  showed 
how  attentively  lie  had  examined  it,  he  adds:  "Visits 
of  this  kind  T  hiirhlv  approve  of,  both  for  younir  and 

••II  7  »  C? 

old.  They  afford  the  best  means,  at  this  remote  dis- 
tance,  of  l)ecoming  accpiainted  with  a  people.  In  two 
or  three  hours'  examination  of  this  museum  one  may 
form  a  better  idea  of  Cliinese  habits  and  customs  than 
bv  reading  for  manv  davs."  TJiu>  he  souirht  for 
means  of  instruction  for  x\u^>v  of  his  familv  further 
advanced  in  years,  and  sources  of  amusement  suited 
to  the  little  ones. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


135 


It  will  be  remembered  that  Thanksgiving  Day, 
which  has  so  long  been  the  great  social  festival  of 
New  England,  was,  until  very  recently,  unknown  in 
this  State.  In  1847,  Mr.  ^:;rozer  writes  on  that  day: 
"Pennsylvania  has  but  lately  come  into  the  New 
England  plan  of  having  a  day  of  the  autumn  set  apart 
as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  our 
common  blessings  as  a  nation.  More  than  one-half 
of  the  United  States  have,  l)y  the  recommendation 
of  their  respective  governors,  set  apart  this  day.  I 
think  well  of  the  plan.  And  though  few,  very  few, 
may  regard  the  day  in  a  })roper  manner,  yet  it  is 
acknowledging  an  overruling  Providence  as  a  people; 
and  will,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  direct  the  thoughts 
of  some  to  the  Source  of  all  earthly  blessings." 

The  anniversary  of  his  birth,  January  13th,  1848, 
found  him  free  from  the  cares  of  business,  and  at 
liberty  to  ])ass  the  dav,  in  accordance  with  his 
annual  custom,  in  reading,  meditation,  and  prayer. 
He  says  of  his  spiritual  condition :  "  I  am,  perhaps, 
as  regular  as  usual  in  external  acts  of  devotion, 
but  I  have  little  liveliness  of  feeling,  little  fondness 
for  frequent  meditation,  and  but  little  freedom  in 
secret  or  family  prayer.  Occasionally  the  case  is 
otherwise— a  little  green  spot  sometimes  spreads  it- 
self around  me — but  these  exceptions  are  few  and  far 
between.     I  find  that  i  have  done  less  in  charity  the 


186 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEOZER. 


past  year  than  in  some  former  ones.  There  is,  how- 
ever, ample  opportunity  to  make  amends  for  this 
ne^^eet :  ahhou"'h  I  do  not  recollect  any  ])ressing 
case  which  1  turned  away.  Excuses  are  so  easily 
framed,  and  the  heart  of  man  so  deceitful,  that  one 
can  easily  reason  himself  into  the  belief  that,  all 
things  considered,  he  has  done  pretty  well.  I  find 
such  a  process  of  reasoning  in  my  own  mind;  but 
calm  reflection  tells  me  1  have  not  done  well.  I  am 
a  very  unprofitable  servant  to  so  good  a  Master;  and 
as  he  has  made  me  the  steward  of  a  large  estate,  it 
becomes  me  to  *lend  to  the  Lord'  freely  of  my  sub- 
stance. I  have  never  lost  by  this  loan;  in  mercantile 
lan^Tuage,  ^  it  has  ever  brought  me  a  good  return  for 
my  adventures.' 

"I  must  needs  have  employment.  Would  to  God 
I  mi"ht  be  directed  to  some  field  of  enlarged  useful- 
uess,  in  which  no  self-interest  could  ensue !  I  now 
persuade  myself  that,  with  all  my  ardor  for  business, 
I  am  not  actuated  l)y  the  love  of  gain  ;  but  I  fear  this 
is  somewhat  doubtful.  Were  I  engaged  in  some 
benevolent  ol)ieet,  in  whicli  my  religious  feelings 
could  be  increased  and  strengthened,  my  sympathies 
with  humanity  be  enlarged,  and  all  my  faculties  called 
into  action  in  behalf  of  fallen  human  nature,  it  seem< 
to  me  that  such  pursuits  would  be  more  suited  for  an 
old   man,  who  has  abundance  of  this  workVs  goods — 


^^ 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CEOZEB. 


137 


abundance  of  means  to  secure  to  himself  and  family 
every  desirable  comfort.  And  now,  when  I  am  to 
commence  my  fifty-sixth  year,  I  pray  God  I  may  be 
kept  from  the  love  of  the  world,  from  every  pursuit 
which  may  interfere  with  my  spiritual  interest  and 
my  growth  in  grace.  O  my  Lord,  if  it  is  thy  right- 
eous pleasure,  direct  me  clearly  and  decisively  to  some 
path  of  duty  and  of  usefulness,  apart  from  the  ab- 
sorbino'  influences  of  wealth  and  worldly-mindedness." 

A  few  days  after,  when  lamenting  his  inability  to 
speak  and  pray  in  public,  he  says :  "  I  may  perhaps 
be  equally  useful  in  sustaining  messengers  of  mercy, 
and  in  operating  through  others.  O  God,  grant  that 
while  I  live,  I  may  yet  be  more  useful  than  heretofore, 
and,  as  I  am  in  the  full  maturity  of  age,  with  large 
knowledge  of  mankind  and  of  the  business  world, 
that  my  experience  may  be  in  some  way  brought  into 
action  for  the  benefit  of  others." 

In  the  direction  of  the  desire  for  usefulness  thus 
expressed,  we  find  ^Ir.  Grozer  meeting  a  number  of 
gentlemen  at  Mr.  S.  ^1.  Leiper's,  with  a  view  of  doing 
something  for  benevolent  objects,  such  as  the  tract, 
temperance,  and  Bible  cause.  >\Ir.  Grozer  oifered  to 
give  one  dollar  for  every  three  that  might  be  raised 
in  the  county.  Gorres])ondence  was  opened  with  the 
American  Tract  Society,  with  a  view  of  securing  the 
labors  of  efiicient  colporteurs.     It  was  natural  that 


12  ■■' 


138 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


one  who  had  so  great  faith  in  the  power  of  a  good 
book  should  turn  to  this  method  of  usefulness  in  his 
endeavor  to  benefit  his  native  county. 

In  the  spring  of  1848,  Mr.  Crozer  was  engaged  in 
improving  and  beautifying  his  grounds  at  Upland — a 
work  in  which  he  took  much  pleasure,  and  of  which 
he  says:  "AVhile  I  am  seeking  to  improve  the 
exterior  of  my  grounds,  I  would  to  God  I  were 
cultivating  the  unproductive  ground  of  my  own  cold 
heart.  Oh  that  everv  noxious  weed,  everv  foul  stain, 
were  removed  ;  and  that  I  might  hope,  with  more  un- 
shaken confidence,  that  the  blessings  in  store  for  the 
pure  in  heart  are  to  be  my  portion  !" 

Twenty  years  ago,  liberality  in  sentiment  and  action 
on  the  part  of  other  denominations  in  tlieir  relation  to 
Baptists  was  less  observable  than  now.  Mr.  Crozer 
says  :  *^  While  I  was  doing  as  much,  or  more,  for  other 
denominations  than  for  my  own,  they  were  satisfied ; 
but  I  have  not  generally  found  a  great  dealof  liber- 
alitv  of  sentiment  amongst  others.  This  ous^ht  not 
to  influence  me  in  feelings  of  brotherlv  love  or 
Christian  kindness  ;  but  in  pecuniary  matters  perhaps 
it  ought.  I  have  given  to  meeting-houses  and  places 
of  worship  for  other  denominations  pretty  liberally ; 
but  I  do  not  find  this  reciprocated  by  others  towards 
Baptists.  Ought  I  not,  therefore,  as  an  act  of  justice 
towards  my  own  denomination,  to  reserve  my  dona- 


PI 


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■w'-jatKij^ieMMBiiteijiMC-"'. 


LIFE   (fF  JOnx   I\  VROZEJl. 


189 


tions  for  tlieni  ?  I  am  not  sure  this  would  be  right, 
althougli  quite  universally  ])raetise(l.  1  have  not  vet 
been  governed  by  this  feeling,  but  perha])s  I  may  be 
hereafter/' 

Christmas,  1848,  was  a  day  of  grand  gathering  of 
relations  at  the  beautiful  Upland  home.  Al)out  forty 
came  to  dinner,  and,  in  consequence  of  a  storm,  more 
than  half  the  visitors  remained  throuo-h  tlie  nidit. 
It  was  a  jovous  and  festive  occasion.  Beautiful,  and 
in  some  cases  costly,  presents  were  provided.  Con- 
cerning Christmas  gifts,  Mr.  Cn )zer  remarks  :  "  There 
is  a  refinement  of  feeling  and  sentiment,  in  connection 
with  the  practice,  that  meets  my  views,  and  I  hope 
it  may  be  kej^t  up  to  tlie  latest  generations.'' 

On  the  13th  of  Jamiarv,  1819,  as  on  previous 
birthdays,  we  find  Mr.  Crozer  reviewing  the  past,  and 
earnestly  desiring  higher  attainments  in  holiness  and 
a  num'  useful  Christian  life:  "Would  that  I  had 
more  engagedness  in  spiritual  exercises,  more  freedom 
in  family  and  social  ])rayer,  more  ardor  in  public 
devotional  exercises !  But  the  j^ast  is  gone,  and  cannot 
be  recalled.  I  am  resolved,  in  God's  streno:th,  that  I 
will  seek  his  glory  more  in  the  coming  year ;  that  I 
will  cast  around  me  with  more  earnestness  to  be  use- 
ful, in  the  way  in  wliich  the  Lord  has  qualified  me  to 
be  useful,  by  honoring  him  with  mv  sid)stan-ce." 
In  February  of  this  year,  his  daughter  Elizabeth 


140 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


141 


made  a  public  profession  of  religion,  uniting  with 
the  church  in  Phihulelphia  of  which  tlie  Rev.  A.  D. 
Gillette  was  pastor.  Tliis  act  ^ave  ^Nlr.  Crozer  great 
satisfaction. 

In  INFarch,  his  daughter  Margaret  asked  permission 
to  unite  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  her 
mother  was  then  a  member.  Her  father  acceded  to 
her  request ;  for,  well  as  he  loved  his  own  denomina- 
tion, and  firmly  as  he  held  its  distinctive  i)rinciples, 
he  would  not,  even  for  the  happiness  of  having  his 
dauo-hter  associated  in  church  relations  witli  himself, 
exert  any  controlling  influeuce  upon  her  mind.  He 
greatly  loved  our  Baptist  idea  of  "soul  liberty,"  and 
was  accustomed  to  accord  to  the  opinions  of  otliers 
the  same  respect  which  he  asked  for  his  own. 

At  times  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  generously 
met  in  the  exercise  of  this  Christian  liberality  as  he 
desired.  In  relation  to  some  such  occasion,  he  says  : 
"Althou<rh  Christian  sentiment  and  Christian  cour- 
tesy  may  soften  down  the  kind  of  antagonistic  feeling 
which  exists  between  rcHniDn-^  «ccts.  yet  it  (tninot  be 
concealed  that  what  is  at  tirst  a  |)retercnce,  often  a 
vorv  slight  preference,  almost  invariably  terminates 
in  prejudice,  and  not  unfrciiuently  in  bigotry.  !My 
wife  thinks /am  becoming  nuich  prejudiced.  T  fear 
it  is  the  case;  and  I  c/o  think  that  it  has  judcceilcd 
almost  entirelv  from  the  bclliircrcnt  ])osition  which   1 


\ 


\ 


have  found  so  many  to  assume  towards  my  own  de- 
nomination. This  has  gradually  cooled  off  that  ardent 
desire  for  union  and  harmony  which  for  a  series  of 
years  held  a  first  place  in  my  heart.  I  have  found  all 
to  go  on  very  well  while  I  yielded  everything ;  but 
when  I  claimed  equal  rights,  equal  courtesy,  and  an 
equal  ])osition,  the  parallel  was  less  favorably  received 
— the  case  was  altered.  I  know  some  happy  excep- 
tions ;  would  to  God  all  were  exceptions !" 

The  enterprise  of  establishing  a  university  at 
Lewisburg  had  now^  reached  a  point  at  which  the 
erection  of  buildings  was  contemplated.  In  April, 
Mr.  Crozer  spent  several  days  at  Lewisburg,  securing 
a  title  to  the  land  and  advisino;  in  regard  to  the  uni- 
versity  buildings.  It  was  only  the  long  distance  of 
Lewisburg  from  his  home  that  prevented  him  from 
immediately  taking  an  active  part  in  the  work  of 
building.  He  notices  the  preparation  for  building, 
and  shows  how  his  own  interest  in  the  enterprise  was 
gradually  increasing:  "I  trust  the  institution  may  be 
a  blessing  to  the  whole  community,  and  especially  to 
the  denomination.  My  feelinois  have  become  more 
enlisted  in  the  scheme,  and  a  few  visits  to  Lewisburg 
will,  no  doubt,  cause  me  to  take  hold  in  earnest.  I 
do  not  j)articularly  wish  to  make  Baptists,  but  I  want 
to  make  educated  young  men." 

The  new  dwelling  at  Lapland,  which  Mr.  Crozer 


lb 


142 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


calls  "my  beautiful  aud  happv  home/'  had  now  be- 
come the  centre  of  attraction  to  a  huge  circle  of  rela- 
tions and  friends :  and  of  these  there  was  so  lanre  n 
gathering  on  the  4th  of  July,  1849,  that  over  eighty — 
including  servants — dined  there.  Of  this  occasion, 
which  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  generous  hosjntality 
whicli  was  dispensed  at  this  princely  mansion,  Mr. 
Cromer  says:  "I  am  pleased  in  being  able  to  con- 
tribute to  the  enjoyment  of  so  many  friends  and  con- 
nexions, young  and  old.  It  is  pleasant  to  look  at  the 
numerous  smiling  faces  around  me,  the  nimble  steps 
of  youth,  the  high  glee  of  children,  and  the  sober 
pace  of  age,  all  mingling  in  gay  and  promiscuous 
groups,  all  apparently  enjoying  themselves." 

In  January,  1850,  on  the  death  of  an  aged  citizen 
of  Chester,  who  died  in  poverty — a  gentleman  who 
had  held  im])ortant  offices  in  the  State  and  nation, 
leaving  the  practice  of  one  of  the  learned  professions 
to  become  an  offieeholdcr — Mr.  Crozer  makes  the 
following  comincnt,  whieh  those  having  a  thirst  for 
office  would  do  well  to  heed.  He  savs :  "Manv  men, 
in  the  vigor  and  jninie  of  life,  seek  offiees  imder 
government:  these  are  always  |)recarious  in  every 
view  of  the  i-\\<v  :  and  I  am  always  ><tny  to  x r  a  man 
take  office,  unless  he  is  inde[)endent ;  and  even  then  it 
is  often  injurious,  .hanging  tlie  tlionghts  and  associa- 
tions, and  eno:endering  habits  which  lead  to  neg-lect 


I 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


143 


of  home  and  family,  to  immorality,  niid  in  the  end  to 
rum. 

In  his  birthday  record,  in  1850,  he  savs:  "I  would 
fain  hope  that  I  obtain  a  more  correct  and  intimate 
self-knowledge,  that  I  am  better  acquainted  with  the 
depravity  of  my  own    heart,  that  I  have   more  hu- 
miliating views  of  my  corrupt  nature,  and  am  more 
deeply  sensible  of  my  utter  helplessness.     But  I  need 
a  stronger  faith   in   the  Saviour— more  of  an  active, 
ever-present  faith,  oi)erating  upon  my  daily  life  and 
conduct.     I  feel  daily  the  uncertaintv  of  mv  life  •  vet 
there  is   not  that   full  giving  up  of  the  world,  that 
living  above  the  world,  which  becomes  a  Christian, 
and  especially  a  Christian  fifty-seven  years  old.    Fond 
as  I  am  of  active  life,  my  plans  are  too  mu(^h   for 
time,  far  too  little  for  eternity.     Would  to  God  that 
my  hold  of  life  were  more  loosened,  and  that  I  could 
live  more  for  God  alone,  with  a  steady,  fixed  faith  in 
the  Saviour — that  Jesus  min:ht  be  trulv  to  me  the 
chiefest  amongst   ten    thousand.     I  dare    not   make 
hasty  resolves,  yet   T  would  earnestly  pray  and  ar- 
dently hope  that,  if  I  am  spared,  the  fifty-eighth  year 
of  my  life  may  evince  an  increase  of  Christian  o-races 
a  stronger  faith,  a  more  devotional  frame  of  mind,  a 
weaning  from  the  world,  and  at  the  same  time  an 
active  doing  to  ])romote  the  good  of  mv  fellows  and 
the  extension  of  the   Redeemer's   kingdom.     T   have 


144 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZKR. 


some  plans  in  reference  to  an  academy  at  Chester,  a 
place  of  worship  at  Marcus  Hook,  perhaps  one  at 
Chester  also,  some  imj)rovements  for  the  comfort 
of  my  people,  as  well  as  some  gifts  for  evangelical 
efforts.'' 

A  few  days  previous  we  find  him  referring  to  the 
purchase,  which  he  had  made,  of  a  tract  of  land  in 
Chester,  and  saying:  "It  is  my  present  intention  to 
build  an  academy.  This  will  not  be  good  stock,  yet 
it  may  do  something  for  our  benefit,  and,  I  trust,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  countv." 

A  desire  to  l^e  useful  to  his  fellow-men  increased  in 
Mr.  Crozer  with  his  years.  We  give  one  out  of  many 
similar  entries  in  his  diarv:  "I  mourn  at  mv  weak- 

ft  • 

ness  as  a  church-member.  I  mourn  to  find  mvself 
so  little  suited  for  a  leader  in  prayer-meetings,  or 
even  in  the  business-meetings  of  the  church.  T  have 
learned  the  art  of  making  money,  but  of  how  ?  mall 
account  is  this  ? — sordid  gain — accumulation  of  one 
kind  of  dust,  no  better,  in  reality,  than  the  clav  of 
the  fields  around  me.  <  )]i  that  T  could  do  a  little  for 
mv  Lord  and    blaster  I — a   little   for   mv  friends  and 

ft  *• 

neiirhbors! — a  little  for  the  dvinir  multitudes  about 
me! — bet()re  I  go  hence  to  be  no  more  on  earth.'' 
These  desires  led  him  to  a])]>ro])riate  action. 

A  few  weeks  later   he   ex|)resses  the  intention  of 
iving  more   for  religious  uses,  and   for  education  at 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


145 


. 


home  and  al)road.  In  compliance  with  this  resolu- 
tion, he  is  busy,  during  a  part  of  the  year,  in  erecting 
an  academy  at  Chester,  where  his  sons  and  those  of 
his  neighbors  might  be  educated.  He  also  responded 
generously  to  the  calls  of  the  University  at  Lewisburg, 
and  entertained  the  project  of  building  at  Upland  a 
house  of  worship  at  his  own  expense.  The  academy 
at  Chester  was  completed  in  November,  at  a  cost 
of  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  Crozer  was  a  keen  observer  at  the  public  meet- 
ings which  he  attended,  and  was  sometimes  very 
plain  in  his  criticisms  on  those  who  are  so  anxious  to 
make  speeches.  After  his  return  from  one  of  these 
annual  oatherintrs  he  makes  this  comment:  "I  was 
less  edified  than  at  some  of  our  annual  meetings.  All 
passed  off  harmoniously,  as  is  usual,  yet  too  much 
prating  by  some,  too  strong  a  disposition  to  make 
speeches.  I  cannot  s[)cak  myself,  and  am  therefore, 
perhaps,  too  much  inclined  to  censure  those  who 
speak  much;  yet  the  speeches  on  this  occasion  were 
evidentlv  useless — idle  talk — wastino;  much  time  and 
cdifviuiT  no  one."  AVlien  weightv  matters  were  under 
discussion,  and  were  treated  Avitli  a  j^ravitv  suited  to 
their  importance,  he  was  ever  an  attentive  and  pleased 
listener.  But  the  whole  luibit  of  his  mind  made 
him  restless  and  dissatisfied  when  grave  men  wasted 
many  words   on    trifles,  or    men  of   little  judgment 


13 


146 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


147 


paraded  their  flipi^ant  platitudes  wlien  subjects  of  great 
moment  were  to  be  considered. 

Tlie  building  of  a  church  had  for  a  long  time 
occu|)ied  his  mind.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1850,  when  he  made  the  purchase  in  Chester,  and  re- 
solved on  buildini>:  ii"  academy,  lie  savs:  "I  may  also, 
possibly,  erect  a  church  edifice  at  Chester.  On  this, 
however,  I  am  not  quite  decided,  on  account  of  the 
peculiar  condition  of  mv  own  family.  It  must  be  a 
subject  of  deep,  mature  consideration  and  anxious 
prayer.  I  hope  and  trust  that  whatever  I  mav  be 
led  to  do  will  be  for  the  best." 

In  Se})tember  of  the  same  year  he  refers  to  the 
subject  again :  "I  have  long  thought  and  talked  of 
building  a  place  of  Avorsliip,  either  here  at  Upland  or 
at  Cliester.  I  feel  it  mv  duty  to  do  somethin(^  vet 
am  much  embarrassed  as  to  the  line  of  duty.  :My 
divided  family — divided  in  denominational  feeling — 
is  a  serious  difficulty,  and  bears  hard  upon  me  when 
I  bring  the  matter  close  homo  to  my  mind.  I  know 
not  what  is  best.  It  becomes  me  to  pray  more  earn- 
estly for  the  Lord's  direction.'' 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  opening  of  the  new 
year,  1851,  that  he  finally  decided  on  the  i)roper 
course  to  pursue.  On  the  l^orh  of  January  lie  writes: 
"I  have  at  length  decided  to  build  a  meeting-house 
at  Upland.     I  shall  keep  the  lot  I  |)rovided  at  Ches- 


ter, and  may  probably  hereafter  build  there  also. 
Upon  mature  reflection  there  does  not  seem  sufficient 
material  at  Chester  for  a  Baptist  church  at  present. 
Our  meeting-room  at  Upland  is  very  unpleasant  in 
hot  weather.  It,  therefore,  seems  to  be  my  duty  to 
provide  a  comfortable  place  of  worship  here.  The 
congregation  may  probably  be  as  large,  or  larger,  than 
if  it  were  at  Chester.     I  hope  that  good  may  result." 

In  April,  1851,  the  building  of  a  house  of  worship 
was  begun,  and  while  the  walls  were  going  up  he 
expresses  an  earnest  desire  that  the  work  might  prove 
a  <ne'di  bless in<>:  to  the  worshipers,  and  especially  to 
the  members  of  his  own  family.  It  being  an  indi- 
vidual enterprise,  and  Mr.  Crozer  (piite  alone  as  a 
Baptist  in  the  neighborhood,  he  naturally  felt  his  own 
personal  responsibility,  and  the  work  of  every  day 
was  carried  to  the  throne  of  grace. 

His  anxiety  for  the  conversion  of  his  children  was 
intense,  and  is  often  expressed  in  his  diary.  And  the 
Lord  was  about  to  give  him  the  earnest  desire  of  his 
heart.  This  year  his  son  licwis  and  his  daughter 
Sallie  gave  evidence  of  conversion.  AVhen  Sal  lie 
returned  home  from  a  visit,  during  wdiich  she  had 
been  eniovino:  the  benefit  of  a  protracted  meeting,  he 
makes  the  following  entry  in  his  diary  :  ''She  appears 
thoughtful  and  happy.  Four  of  my  beloved  children, 
I  trust,  are  Christians;  and  one  dear  boy  is  in  heaven; 


148 


LIFE  OF  JOHX  P.  moZEM. 


my  first-born  son  is  dutiful,  and  a  useful  man  in 
society;  he  must  yet  be  a  Christian;  God  will  in 
mercy  bring  him  into  the  fold  of  Christ ;  I  trust,  I 
hope,  I  fervently  pray,  that  my  heavenly  Father  will 
do  it.  I  believe;  help  thou  my  unl)elief,  my  gracious 
and  divine  Master/'  With  such  wrestling  with  God 
for  the  conversion  of  his  first-l)orn,  we  can  anticipate 
with  reasonable  confidence  the  result. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1852,  an   event  occured 
which  gave  Mr.  Grozer  great  happiness.     His  wife, 
w^ho  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  had  for 
a  long  time  been  considering  the  question  of  her  duty 
in  regard  to  ba[)tisni,  and  the  proposed  baptism  of 
her  daughter  Sallie  seemed   to   her  a   verv  suitable 
occasion  on  which  to  decide  this  question.     Her  pre- 
ference   had  always   been   in   the  favor  f;f  the  prac- 
tice of  Baptists,   but  she  no^v   reached   the   conclu- 
sion   that    no    other    mode    is    scriptural.      On    the 
first    Sunday    of  January,    1852,    Mrs.    Crozer,    her 
daugliter  Sallie,  and  her    niece,   Mary  Lewis,   were 
buried  with  C^irist  in  baptism  by  the  Rev.  A.  D. 
Gillette,  in   Philadelphia.     In   recording  this  event, 
Mr.  Crozer  savs :   "I   ^on.oely  can   realizL'  :he   fact; 
what  I  have  so  many  years  wished  has  now  come  to 
pass.     Oh,  how  it  becomes  me  to  be  thankful !"     He 
was  all  the  more  ])leased  w  ith  this  act  of  his  wife, 
from  the  fact  that  the  chuivh  which  was  soon  to  be 


f 


^ 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


149 


organized  at  Upland,  on  the  completion  of  the  new 
house  of  worship,  would  now  comprise  so  many  of 
his  own  familv.  In  his  customarv  birthdav  reflection, 
on  the  13th  of  this  month,  he  says:  "My  beloved 
comj)anion  in  life,  than  whom  a  more  tender,  faithful, 
and  devoted  never  lived,  has,  after  years  of  reflection 
and  prayer,  been  led  to  adopt  the  peculiar  views  of 
her  husband  in  reference  to  baptism,  and  was  im- 
mersed. My  Sallie  has  also  been  led  in  the  way  of 
her  father's  views,  and  I  trust  we  shall  walk  hand  in 
hand,  taking  sweet  counsel  together  and  going  to  the 
house  of  God  in  company." 

In  regard  to  his  spiritual  state,  he  says  on  his 
birthdav  of  this  vear :  '^I  fear  my  emotions  are  be- 
coming  less  lively.  I  have  -tiong  desires  to  be  useful 
and  less  fondness  for  business  pursuits  with  a  view  to 
profit,  but  these  |)erhaps  are  more  the  effects  of  age 
and  my  reasoning  upon  the  shortness  of  remaining 
life,  than  of  increasing  devotion  to  God.  I  would, 
however,  fain  lio)  e  there  is  some  growth  in  grace, 
some  progress  in  the  divine  life." 

Early  in  February  there  was  a  meeting  at  the  l\ev. 
Joseph  H.  Kennard's  church  in  I^hiladelphia,  in  be- 
half of  our  Home  Mission  enterprise  in  Xew  Mexico, 
which  ^Ir.  Crozer  attended,  and  in  which  he  was 
much  interested.  The  missionary.  Rev.  H.  W.  Reed, 
and    his   wife,  visited   Upland  the   same  week,   and 


13  ' 


150 


LIFE  Of  JOHN  P.  (ROZKR. 


received  not  only  synipatliy,  but  a  generous  donation 
in  aid  of  the  mission.     Mr.  Crozer  apparently  made 
it  a  point  to  bring-  his  family  into  personal  contact 
with   missionaries,  that    they    might    take   an    early 
interest  in  efforts  to  evangelize  the  wc^-ld.     He  did 
just  what  a  father  sliould  always  do  if  he  Avishes  his 
children  to  grow  up  fast  friends  of  missions ;  and  the 
result  of  this  training  is  evident  to   the  Christian 
public.      Mr.    Crozer's    own    Jdnd    and    sympathetic 
feelings    for   persons    engaged    in    mission   work    are 
expressed  in  connection  with  the  record  he  made  of 
Mr.  and  :\rrs.  Reed's  visit:  "I  think  in  the  case  of 
foreign  and  domestic  missionaries  we  sliould  do  much 
for  their  comfort  and  enjoyment;   and   I  think  the 
attentions    our  family  incline  to  show  to  such   are 
grateful  to  their  feelings."     One  of  the  little  kind- 
nesses   to    Mrs.    Keed    was    the   presentation    of   an 
expensive  book  which  she  desired  to  have. 

^Ir.  Crozer  expressed  great  anxiety  in  regard  to 
the  opening  of  the  new  house  of  worship,  and  ^hat 
would  follow.  When  it  was  about  readv  for  dedica- 
tion  he  said  of  it:  "I  have  spared  no  expense  U^ 
make  it  attractive.  But,  alas !  what  are  bare  walls, 
stone  and  mortar,  wood  and  iron  combined/  The 
living  temple  is  yet  to  be  l)ullt  u]) ;  the  Mively 
stones' are  iK.t  \i^{  there:  and  n«»  voiee  of  love  and 
mercy  has  yet  been  heard.     AVe  have  no  minister,  no 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


151 


church.  I  have  built  the  outside — the  porch  as  it 
were — but  the  spiritual  l)ody  needs  a  stronger  hand 
than  mine." 

March  28  th  was  fixed  upon  as  the  day  for  dedica- 
tion. The  day  had  been  looked  forward  to  by  Mr. 
Crozer  with  deep  solicitude.  On  the  day  preceding 
the  dedication  he  thus  presents  to  us  the  hopes  and 
the  fears  which  alternated  in  his  heart;  and  at  the 
same  time  shows  his  submission  to  the  will  of  that 
God  for  whose  y:lorv  he  had  built  the  house:  "A 
stoi-mv,  disao:reeable  dav  ;  wind  easterlv,  and  a  pros- 
pect  of  a  dull  day  to-morroAv.  I  am  very  anxious ; 
but  the  weather  is  not  for  me  to  decide.  I  have  just 
now  finished  all  the  preparations.  And  feeling  that 
my  work  of  preparation  is  complete,  I  shall  this 
afternoon  labor  to  eom]i(>se  my  mind  and  commit  all 
to  the  Lord.  It  is  my  prayer  that  all  may  be  right ; 
but  I  and  the  people  about  me  are  far  too  unimport- 
ant to  expect  peculiar  fav(^rs.  I  am  not  to  expect  the 
ecpial  laws  of  Omnii)otence  set  aside  in  my  favor. 
God  sends  his  rains  upon  tlio  just  and  upon  the  un- 
just;  and  whatsoever  he  does  is  right.  I  must  in 
deep  humility  cast  myself  upon  him.  And,  if  the 
day  proves  unfavoral)le  to  a  congregation,  some  other 
dav,  manv  other  J  word's  Davs,  mav  smile  upon  us. 
And  a  church  mav  orow  and  flourish  in  after  time, 
even  if  now  adverse  winds  should  Vk*  ]iermitted  to 


152 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEIL 


blow  upon  118  and  scatter  our  hopes."  The  morning, 
however,  opened  bright  and  clear,  in  j)leasing  contrast 
with  the  weather  of  the  previous  day.  ^Ir.  Crozer 
says:  "Contrary  to  my  expectations,  the  Lord's  Day 
was  delightful — the  air  pure,  clear,  and  cahn;  a  briglit 
sun  and  the  face  of  nature  cheerful.  I  awoke  about 
five  o'clock,  and,  looking  out  of  my  chamber  window, 
beheld  a  bright  star.  My  heart  bounded,  not  intU'cd 
with  the  joy  of  youth,  yet  with  all  that  would  be 
expected  of  age."  The  "bright  star"  he  accepted  as 
a  good  omen,  and  it  gave  him  pleasure  akin  to  that 
ex})erienced  by  the  wise  men  Avhen  they  saw  the  star 
in  the  East.  For  it  was  in  the  hope  tliat  the  Saviour 
would  there  manifest  his  presence  that  the  liouse  was 
built. 

The  ministers  present  on  the  wcasion  were  greeted 
by  a  large  audience.  Mr.  Gillette  pix?ached  an  a})- 
propriate  discourse  from  the  text,  "Lord,  1  have 
loved  the  habitation  of  thy  house,  and  the  place 
where  thine  honor  dwelleth,'*  and  at  the  close  of 
tlic  sermon  offered  the  dedicatory  prayer.  In  the 
aftern<X)n  the  Kev.  William  fc^iiadrach  preached  an 
excellent  sermon  on  "Tlu'  miiachs  of  Christ  as  svm- 
bolical  of  his  givai  mission  ;"  and  in  tin  evening  the 
Rev.  Thomas  S.  Malcom  pretiehcd  fn »iii  the  words, 
"Simon  Peter,  lovest  thou  me?" — n  <ermon  wliich 
deeply  affected  some  of  the  audience.     J^^peaking  of 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


153 


the  effect  produced  on  himself  by  the  service  of  the 
day,  Mr.  Crozer  says:  "When  our  sweet-toned  organ 
began  to  swell,  and  the  choir  sounded  out  the  notes 
of  joy,  ^  Holy  is  the  Lord,'  my  heart  melted  within 
me,  and  tears  of  joy  burst  from  my  eyes."  Such  was 
his  anxiety  that  everything  should  pass  off  well  at 
the  dedication,  that  he  feared  he  did  not  receive  thai 
spiritual  benefit  which  he  greatly  desired.  His  diarv 
says:  "My  mind  was  engaged  and  possessed  with  a 
varietv  of  conflictini»:  emotions;  but  on  the  whole,  it 
was  amongst  the  proudest  days  of  my  life,  and  such 
an  one  as  I  may  proliably  never  again  witness.  I 
this  night  feel  thankful  to  Almi<xhtv  God  for  the 
high  stewardship  he  has  entrusted  to  me,  the  wealth 
he  has  bestowed.  I  feel  more  thankful  that  he  has 
made  me,  as  I  trust  and  believe,  a  clieerful  giver.  I 
give  the  house  cheerfully.  I  dedicate  it  anew  to  my 
Divine  Master.  Oh  that  he  may  consecrate  it  to  him- 
self! for  unless  the  Lord  build  the  house,  thev  labor 

« 

in  vain  who  build  it." 

In  the  latter  j)art  of  August  of  this  year  a  dark 
cloud  lowered  over  this  happy  family,  and  when  it 
broke,  a  voun«:  and  beautiful  dauo-hter — beautiful  in 
character  as  in  person — had  passed  away.  It  was  the 
daughter  who,  with  her  mother,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year,  had  put  on  Christ  by  baptism.  She  had 
completed  her  education  in   the  best  schools  of  the 


154 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


city,  and  by  unusual  amiability  and  sweetness  of 
temper  had  endeared  herself  to  a  large  circle  of 
friends.  Her  loveliness  of  character  and  her  dutiful- 
ness  as  a  dauirhter  had  so-  won  her  lather's  heart  as 
to  awaken  his  fear  that  she  had  gained  his  too 
partial  affection.  At  tlie  time  when  she  was  seized 
with  her  fatal  illness,  Sallie  was  away  from  home 
on  a  visit;  when  it  was  known  that  her  sickness 
was  serious,  her  mother  and  sisters  were  promptly 
summoned  to  her  bedside,  and  watched  and  nursed 
her  with  tender  and  loving  care,  until  her  sweet 
spirit  passed  into  the  keeping  of  the  Shepherd  and 

Bishop  of  souls. 

The  death-scene  is  thus  described  l)y  ^Nlr.  Crozer : 
**  As  I  reached  the  house  T  was  told,  '  You  are  just  in 
time.'"  He  says:  "I  ran  up  stairs,  and  oh,  the  sad, 
the  dreadful  spectacle!  The  dying  child  was  sur- 
rounded bv  her  brothers  and  sisters,  with  their  mother 
and  a  few  other  relations.  T  sjioke  to  her,  but  she 
heeded  not.  The  agonies  of  death  had  taken  flist 
holil  upon  her,  and  the  King  of  Terrors  was  grap- 
pling with  the  form  I  loved.  Her  sufferings  seemed 
terrible,  but  it  is  supposed  by  the  doctor  that  she  was 
unconscious  of  it  all.  A  little  more  than  an  honr 
after  my  arrival  the  spirit  winged  its  flight.  We  sat 
chiefly  in  silence.  I  endeavored  to  pray  and  commit 
mvself  and  mv  familv  to  God.     Oh,  the  inexpressible 


LIFE  OF  JOliy  P.  CROZER. 


155 


sadness  of  that  never-to-be-forgotten  hour  I     It  must 
live  with  me  and  mine  thronirhoiit  our  career  of  life." 

In  describing  Sallic^^  life  and  character,  her  father 
said  :  "Her  alacrity  in  waiting  upon  and  contributing 
to  my  comfort,  and  her  open  sweetness  of  expression, 
won  and  fixed  my  heart.  She  did  not  talk  much,  but 
her  conversational  powers  were  developing;  and  in  a 
recent  visit  to  Cleveland  and  Pittsburo;  with  her 
parents,  her  sister  Elizabeth,  and  other  friends,  I  was 
much  pleased  with  her  whole  behavior.  Indeed,  her 
whole  life  has  been  one  of  pleasure  to  me.  That 
sweet  and  serene  and  ever-cheerful  countenance;  the 
mornino'  and  eveninir  kiss — oh,  I  never  can  cease  to 
cherish  the  memory  of  this  dear,  sweet  child !  But, 
added  to  all  Avhich  she  received  by  nature.  Divine 
grace  had  operated  upon  her  heart.  She  was  a  rar< 
example  of  youthful  sincerity  and  decornm ;  her 
walk,  during  the  eight  months  of  her  Christian  life, 
has  been  most  beautifullv  consistent." 

How  stibmissively  ^\v.  Crozer  resigned  himself  to 
this  sad  event  we  learn  from  this  remark  in  reference 
to  it:  ''This  providence  of  God  is  astounding,  but, 
dark  and  frowning  as  it  seems,  I  wish  to  cast  myself 
on  the  Kedeemer,  and  to  say  of  my  Creator  and  my 
God,  'Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  T  trust  in  him.'" 

Not  antici})ating  the  need  of  a  place  of  burial,  no 
ground  had  been  laid  ont  in  the  neii[rhborhood  of  the 


156 


LIFE  OF  J  any  p.  crozer. 


Dew  cliurcli  at  Upland  for  such  a  purpose.  On 
Monday  evening,  as  the  day  was  fading  into  night, 
the  soiTOwiug  family  repaired  to  the  grounds  that 
were  to  be  devoted  to  a  cemetery,  and  there  selected  a 
beautiful  knoll,  where  the  remains  of  the  loved  one 
should  1)0  placed.  On  Wednesday  afternoon,  Sep- 
tember lst,»  1852,  the  funeral  service  took  place, 
calling  together  as  large  an  assembly  as  had  ever 
oathered  on  a  funeral  occasion  in  the  count»v.  Kev. 
Dr.  Howard  Maleom,  and  othw  ministers  took  part 
in  the  solemn  services  at  the  chui*ch,  and  Bishop 
Potter  used  at*  the  grave  an  approj)riate  portion  of  the 
Episcopal  service  for  the  dead.  The  occasion  was  one 
of  great  solenmity. 

Immediatelv  after  tlie  burial,  Mr.  Crozer  began  to 
enclose  with  a  wall  the  ground  he  had  now  set  apart 
as  a  place  of  l)urial.  He  said,  he  should  take  a  mel- 
ancholy pleasure  in  preparing  and  beautifying  it, 
"chiefly  on  account  of  its  being  the  resting-place  of 
my  Sallie;  and  in  addition  to  this,  I  mark  it  as  the 
resting-place  of  myself  and  most  that  are  dear  to  me 
on  earth.  Wc  shidl,  one  by  one,  sleej)  there,  to  wake 
no  more  till  the  resurrection ;  for  a  resurrection 
Christ  has  declared  to  be  forthconung,  both  for  the 
just  and  for  the  luijust.  Oh,  may  I  and  mine  be  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  jusr  I"' 

A   fortnight  after  the  death  of  liis  daughter,  Mr. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


157 


Crozer  made  the  following  entry  in  his  diary :  "  I 
think  I  have  felt  her  loss  more  last  evening  and  to- 
day than  ever  before.  Oh,  the  sinking  of  spirits  and 
the  feeling  of  desolateness  which  occasionally  come 
over  me !  For  the  tirst  time,  I  found  to-day  a  slight 
disposition  to  murmur  and  say,  ^O  Lord,  why  didst 
thou  do  it?'  Oh,  may  I  be  kept  from  such  a  frame 
of  mind !  From  every  rebellious  thought,  O  Lord, 
deliver  me." 

But  this  extreme  sorrow  and  mourning  was  soon 
turned  into  joy  and  gladness.  The  death  of  the 
daughter  had  been  blessed  to  the  spiritual  good  of 
his  first-born  son,  for  whose  conversion  he  had 
wrestled  in  prayer  with  strong  crying  and  tears.  Mr. 
Crozer  says  :  "  I  had  mourned  dear  Sallie's  loss,  as  one 
ever  ready  to  sympathize  witli  me  in  our  church 
affairs,  and  now  a  merciful  God  has  raised  up  a  strong 
arm  to  aid  me  in  my  son.  I  feel  that  he  is  a  host 
on  the  Lord's  side.  O  my  Lord  and  my  God,  how 
unsearchable  are  thy  ways !  How  mysterious  to 
short-sighted  man !  Thus  joy  is  mingled  with  sor- 
row; weeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy 
cometh  in  the  morning." 

In  the  closing  part  of  this  year,  in  speaking  of 
some  doubts  that  had  crossed  and  darkened  his  mind, 
he  says:  "Oh  that  I  could,  with  the  simplicity  of  a 
child,  lie  at  the  feet  of  €Tesus,  and  learn  of  him  who 

14 


i| 


158 


LIFE  OF  JOIIX  P.  CROZER. 


was  meek  and  lowly  of  heart !  Oh  that  T  could  live 
in  deep  liumility  and  driuk  of  the  wells  of  salvation ; 
mv  will  lost  in  the  Divine  will,  and  waitinir  all  the 
days  of  my  appointed  time,  until  the  ehange,  the 
great  ehange,  comes!*' 

The  review  which  Mr.  Crozer  made  on  his  l)irtli- 
day  in  l85o  relates  mainly  to  the  church  at  Upland, 
the  completion  of  the  edifice,  the  organization  of  the 
clmrch,  and  the  additions  by  baptism.  His  deceased 
daughter  had  looked  forward  with  deep  interest  to 
tlie  tiine  wlien  the  desire  of  her  father\s  heart  would 
be  oTatifiod  in  the  formation  of  a  church  :  and  on  the 
arrival  of  the  time  for  its  organization  ^Ir.  Crozer 
deeply  mourned  her  absence.  But  in  lun*  place  came 
his  beloved  wife,  who,  he  savs :  "early  lent  a  kind 
aid  to  sustain  her  husband."  The  church  was  or- 
ganized with  twenty  members;  and  immediately  aftei* 
its  organization  ba])tisms  followed,  aiul  a  few  were 
added  by  letter ;  so  that,  at  the  time  this  review  was 
made,  the  church  was  composed  of  more  than  forty 
members,  and  there  were  some  incpiirers.  Some  of 
those  baptized  were  broiiglitto  tliink  <»f  their  s|)irituid 
necessities  bv  the  sudden  death  (tf  Miss  Crozer,  and 
amonir  them  were  his  jsrm  Samuel  and  several  cousins. 
Reterring  to  the  tact  that  the  cluirch  had  a  j)astor,  the 
Rev.  John  Duncan,  and  had  been  increased  bv  the  bap- 
tism of  his  sons  ►"^auuicl  and  Lewis  and  their  cousins. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN   P.  CROZER. 


159 


witli  others,  he  says:  "These  are  themes  of  rejoicing 
and  thankfulness ;  but  the  thought  of  the  absent  one 
steals  over  my  mind  with  its  chilling  influence.  And 
vet  how  much  we  are  blessed  I — the  wife  of  mv  bosom 
a  Christian ;  my  two  daughters  more  than  usually 
active  in  Christian  benevolence  and  good  deeds ; 
Samuel  and  Lewis  also  professors,  and  desirous  to  do 
p-ood."  Of  himself,  on  this  birthday,  he  savs  he 
feels  more  deeply  impressed  than  on  any  previous 
occasion,  that  his  sixty-first  year  may  prove  his  last 
on  earth:  "The  orave  itself  looks  less  lonelv  near 
the  church  of  my  household  and  by  the  side  of  my 
daugliter  than  when  I  thought  of  it,  even  in  that 
beautifully  retired  spot  I  had  selected  in  the  Middle- 
town  Cemetery." 

One  of  Mr.  Crozer's  methods  of  provoking  others 
to  good  works  was  to  agree  to  give  for  some  benevo- 
lent enterprise  a  large  sum,  on  condition  that  a 
certain  other  sum  was  first  sul)scribed.  In  February, 
1853,  there  is  a  minute  of  such  an  offer,  in  which  he 
])roposed  a  donation  for  the  endowment  of  a  new 
professorship  in  the  University  at  Lewisburg,  making 
his  donation  conditional  on  the  sum  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  being  raised.  His  |)roposition  was 
promptly  responded  to  by  the  gift  of  twelve  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars  from  Dr.  David  Jayne,  and  five 
thousand  dollars   from   ]Mr.  William   Bucknell,  Mr. 


I  < 


160 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CMOZEE. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  r.  CUOZER. 


161 


Crozer  contributing  the  balance.  The  professorship 
was  established,  and  has  ever  since  been  accomplish- 
ing its  work  of  usefulness. 

Mr.  Crozer,  having  a  Avidely-sproad  reputation  for 
wealth  and  benevolence,  was  often  applied  to  for  aid. 
The  wealthy  and  those  who  have  the  reputation  of 
being  benevolent  will  sympathize  with  him  in  the 
minute  he  makes  in  his  diary  on  this  topic:  "Per- 
petual duns  are  unpleasant,  yet  one  must  submit  to 
them.  And  on  the  disappointment  of  the  solicitor, 
occasionally,  nay  frequently,  unkind  remarks  are  made 
— ^although  not  in  one's  presence — because  of  the 
small  sums  given."  Ten  years  later,  in  connection 
with  an  entry  of  the  fact  that  he  had  just  given  one 
thousand  dollars  to  the  Freedmen's  Relief  Association 
for  the  suftering  blacks,  one  tliousand  to  the  American 
Baptist  Missionary  Union,  two  hundred  and  fifty  to 
the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  and 
smaller  sums  to  existing  institutions,  he  says:  "Ap- 
plications are  so  frequent  that  my  patience  is  often 
tried,  and  I  fear  1  am  sometimes  abriii>t.  This  ouolit 
not  to  be."  To  this  cotidemnntion  of  himself,  how- 
ever, his  friends  woukl  hardly  subscribe.  Few  men 
gave  with  such  readiness  as  he,  and  fewer  still  (;ould 
more  courteouslv  tli(»uirh  tirndv  decline  when  declina- 
ture  was  necessai*v. 

In  December  of  this  year  Mr.  Crozer  visited  the 


factories  at  \\'est  Branch  and  Crozerville,  for  the  first 
time  in  many  months,  and  having  become  familiar 
with  the  more  spacious  buildings  at  Upland,  was 
impressed  with  the  contrast :  "The  old  mill,"  he  says, 
"  looked  small  and  roui»li ;  and  1  can  liardlv  realize 
that  the  little,  low-ceiling  room  which  1  was  in  to- 
dav  was  in  reality  the  same — formerlv  niv  card-room, 
where  I  had  spent  -o  many  weary  and  tedious 
hours  at  the  cards — where  I  had  toiled  through  long, 
anxious  days  and  evenings — where  1  had  figured  and 
calculated  until  both  mind  and  body  were  so  absorbed 

«■' 

that  1  could  neither  talk  nor  think  of  anvthin<>:  v\^i\ 
This  incessant  toil  was  indeed  the  foundation  of  niv 
fortnne,  and  enabled  me  to  surmount  manv  serious 
difticulties  j  but  on  the  other  hand  it  contracted  my 
mind,  stifled  the  relish  1  once  had  for  literary  pur- 
suits, gave  me  a  distaste  for  study  and  in  a  measure 
for  society  to(>,  and  I  think  made  me  less  useful.  I 
gained  one  point,  it  is  trtie :  1  ])ecame  a  man  of  for- 
tune, and  now  it  becomes  mo  t<^  use  that  fortune  as  a 
means  of  good." 

Whenever  the  fact  of  his  large  possessions  was 
presented  to  his  mind,  there  came  along  with  it  the 
thotight  of  his  stewardship;  hence  this  record  made, 
December  30, 1854  :  ''  My  mind  is  a  good  deal  engaged 
as  to  what  I  shall  do  with  my  «:ains.  I  shall  not 
pull  (knvn  my  barns  and   build  greater,  Avherein  to 

14  *  I. 


162 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER, 


bestow  my  goods.  I  shall  not  say  to  my  soul,  '  Soul, 
thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years/'  but 
in  God's  strength  I  shall  cast  around  me  to  be  highly 
useful.  I  feel  it  my  duty,  and  shall  pray  for  strength 
to  discharge  this  duty — to  give  all  future  increase  of 
my  fortune  to  acts  of  benevolence.  O  God,  give  me,  I 
pray  thee,  wisdom  and  decision  of  mind  to  carry  out 
my  resolution  in  a  manner  which  may  promote  thy 
glory  and  the  happiness  of  my  fellow-creatures.'' 

When,  in  January,  1855,  the  balance-sheet  of  the 
previous  year's  business  was  laid  before  him,  he  says : 
"AVealth  flows  in  from  all  sources.  I  feel,  as  often 
before  in  making  up  my  yearly  accounts,  oppressed 
with  the  responsibility  of  my  stewardship.  I  am 
indeed  perplexed  how  I  shall  use,  as  I  ought  to,  the 
great  and  increasing  stores  of  wealth  which  God  has 
bestowed  upon  me."  The  next  month  he  says  :  "  My 
exercise  of  mind  now  is  (and  I  wish  to  deepen  the 
exercise),  how  shall  I  best  enn)loy  time  and  fortune  to 
advance  tfie  good  of  mv  fellows?  God  has  not  en- 
(lowed  me  with  the  great  talents  of  "VVilberforce  and 
Jay,  of  wliom  I  have  just  been  reading.  I  cannot 
attract  attention  in  the  senate  or  in  the  pulpit.  My 
talent  is  of  a  more  sordid  character — to  accumulate 
wealth.  And  I  thank  God  that  I  have,  as  I  trust, 
an  increasing  desire  to  emph)y  that  wealtli  in  doing 
good."     When,  on  his   liirtliday  in  1855,  he  repeated 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER 


163 


his  resolution  to  appropriate  to  acts  of  benevolence 
and  charity  his  future  gains,  he  says :  "  I  feel  that 
this  important  resolution  is  surrounded  with  many 
difficulties;  and  that  of  selecting  the  proper  objects 
of  benevolence  will  not  be  the  least.  My  feelings 
are  not  much  inclined  toward  building  cluirches  or 
contributing  largely  toward  them,  and  yet  I  am 
aware  that  importunities  will  be  pressing  in  this  line ; 
and  I  have  alreadv  found  that  the  man  who  p-ives  a 
good  deal  will  disappoint  very  many,  as  he  will  have 
to  encounter  the  unreasonable  expectations  of  many 
applicants." 

In  allusion  to  the  fact  that  he  had  fixed  on  no  plan 
of  action  in  the  matter  of  giving  away  his  increase, 
he  utters  this  ])rayer:  "O  God,  my  heavenly  Father! 
oh,  for  my  Saviour's  sake,  turn  my  aftections  more 
toward  thee,  and  enable  me  to  keep  thy  glory 
steadily  in  view  during  the  residue  of  my  pilgrimage! 
Keep  me,  oh  keep  me,  from  selfisluiess !  Give  me 
firm  purposes  of  mind,  so  that  I  may,  in  the  evening 
of  mv  davs,  do  more  for  mv  race  than  I  have  done 
through  my  threescore  years,  which  have  departed  to 
return  no  more  for  ever !" 

In  November,  1855,  having  read  the  life  of  Amos 
Lawrence,  of  Boston,  who  had  given  in  charity 
so  larij::clv,  Mr.  Crozer  savs:  ^^  I  am  within  less  than 
five   years  of  being    as    old    as    Mr.    Lawrence    was 


164 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  cnoZFR. 


at  his  death.  Am  1  doiiii»:  mv  diitv?  is  an  iiKiiiirv 
worth  mv  .scrioll^^  attention.  I  liavo  but  recentlv 
horonio  rich:  hut  there  is  the  more  cause  for  irreater 
activity  in  doing  jJ^ood.  I  will  stir  myself  while  life 
and  liealth  are  spared.'' 

Under  the  intiuenee  of  sucli  feelino:s  as  these  he 
was  directed  in  his  tliouuhts  to  the  Universitv  at 
Lewisburg.  He  had  long  entertained  the  opinion 
that  this  univei-sity  would  acconiplisli  a  larger  useful- 
ness if  located  in  the  vicinity  of  Phi ladeli)hia;  that, 
while  it  was  geograi)hieally  more  central  at  Lewis- 
burg, it  would  be  far  more  accessible  to  all  portions 
of  the  State  if  it  were  removed  to  a  location  to\\ard 
which  the  interests  of  the  State  naturallv  tended,  an<l 
upon  which  a  stronger  Baptist  influence  could  be  con- 
centrated. He  therefore  pro])osed  to  its  Board  of 
Trustees,  at  their  annual  meeting  in  July,  I806,  to 
endow  the  universitv  additionally  in  the  sum  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  on  condition  <>f  its  removal  to  the 
vicinity  of  Philadeli)hia.  Tin-  noble  offer  was  de- 
clined. In  the  light  of  all  whicli  was  then  known 
by  the  Board,  it  is  believed  it  was  unwisely  declined; 
but  ill  the  light  of  what  i<  imw  known,  and  in  view 
of  the  contemplated  chanure  whereby  the  theological 
work  (»f  the   university   may  probably  be   tian.-ferred 

•  •        1  ( 

to  Upland,  it  may  l)e  (piestioned  if  their  action 
has  not  resulted  in  good.     That   is  a  merciful  Provi- 


LIFE   OF  JOlJy  P.  CROZE E. 


165 


deuce  which  presides  over  the  mistakes  of  men,  and 
directs  our  action,  even  when  it  errs,  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  future  good.  Mr.  Crozer  acquiesced 
pleasantly  in  the  decision  of  the  Board.  He  w^as  too 
kind  a  man  to  desire  the  removal  unless  it  coidd  be 
accomplished  harmoniously.  He  returned  from  the 
meeting  at  Lewisburg  richer  by  fifty  thousand  dollars 
than  he  went,  yet  deeply  regretting  tlie  loss  of  an 
opportunity  to  carry  out  the  resolutions  which,  in  his 
Master's  strength,  he  had  formed — of  larger  pecuniary 
usefulness. 

About  this  time  he  made  this  entry  in  regard  to 
giving:  '^I  love  to  give;  must  set  a  guard  over  my- 
self, lest  the  good  designed  be  lost  in  the  luxury  of 
giving.  I  love  to  make  money  almost  a<  well  as  a 
miser;  and  I  love  to  give  it  away  for  cliaritable  pur- 
poses, I  think,  as  well  as  most  men.  I  formerly  felt, 
sometimes,  a  shade  of  passing  regret  after  parting 
with  my  money;  but  such  feelings  have  long  since 
passed  away;  and  it  is  now  umningled  ideasure  and 
calmness.  God  grant  that,  during  the  residue  of  my 
life,  I  may  continue  to  possess  a  warm  heart  and  an 
open  hand;  and  that  I  may  be  able  to  exercise  discre- 
tion and  iudii-ment  in  mv  donations!'' 

A  few  davs  after  this,  when  glancinii^  aoaiu  over 
the  lives  of  Wilberforce  and  Howard,  he  says :  ^'  Won- 
derful men  in  their  respective  spheres  of  action!     My 


16G 


LIFE  OF  JOIiy  P.  CROZE  It. 


soul  is  borne  down  with  a  sense  of  my  own  uscless- 
ness.  They  were  hiynien  like  myself,  but  effected 
wonders.  I  have  not  the  jx^sition,  the  edueation,  tlie 
elo(|uenee  of  Wilberforee,  or  his  talent;  but  I,  per- 
haps, have  fully  as  mueh  intelleetual  foree  as  Howard, 
and  niiiiht  do  somethiuu"  with  mv  talent  and  fortune 
eombined.  But  mv  davs  are  hastening  away,  and  I 
am  doing  almost  nothing  for  my  fellow-men." 

In  the  spring  of  1857  he  speaks  of  a  large  exj)endi- 
tiire,  for  whieh  he  finds  ample  (M>mi)ensation  in  the 
hoi)e  that  it  will  prove  a  benefit  to  his  fellow-men. 
He  refers,  no  doubt,  to  plans  he  had  formed  for  the 
erection  of  a  Lyeeum  at  Upland,  and  of  liis  noruial 
gcliool — an  enterprise  whieh  he  had  now  begun,  and 
wliic'h  he  describes  more  fully  as  it  ai>proaches  its 
completion. 

Just  before  commencing  this  work  of  usefulness,  we 
fnid  him  writing  in  his  diary:  "'Oh  that  1  may  be 
enabled,  bv  mv  louo-sutfering  and  forbearing  Lord 
and  Master,  to  double  my  diligence  to  make  my  own 
calling  and  election  sure,  and  io  expend  my  large 
pecuniary  means  for  the  good  of  my  fellow-creatures, 
and  to  feel  deeply  the  high  rt'>j)onsil)ility  of  my 
stewardship!  I  want  to  be  like  Jesus,  the  spot- 
less Lamb  of  frod.  T  want  to  go  i<>  him.  a-  a  little 
child  to  an  earthlv  lyarent,  and  lav  all  mv  earthlv 
eares  before  liim.     I  will  cast  myself  into  his  arms 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


1G7 


renewedly,    for    all    my    hopes    are    in    his    [>recious 


name. 


?,» 


There  are  found  scattered,  throuoh  both  his  diai-v 
and  his  letters  during  the  last  twentv  vears  of  his 
lile,  expressions  similar  in  import  to  the  above.  The 
Lord  Jesus  was  evidently  drawing  his  servant  nearer 
to  himself.  He  was  led,  as  fre(|uently  the  disciples 
of  Christ  are,  to  a  deeper  and  fuller  api)reciation  of 
the  glory  of  his  charactei*  and  the  riches  of  his  grace. 
The  name  of  Jesus  was  coniino;  to  be  dailv  more 
})rccious  to  him.  Lisensibly  ])erha]>s  to  himself,  but 
verv  noticeablv  in  his  writings,  he  came  to  sneak  of 
his  Lord  more  and  more  by  his  personal  name.  On 
a  review  of  the  records  which  he  made  durino:  these 
later  years,  we  see  that  the  strong  expressicjus  of  [)er- 
sonal  feeling  toward  Jesus,  which  marked  his  dvinc; 
hours,  are  the  result  of  no  sudden  impulse:  tliey  fol- 
low naturallv  from  the  nearer  and  more  endeariuir 
fellowship  with  his  gracious  Lord  into  which  he  had 
been  <»:raduallv  drawn. 

How  l)usv  ^L\  Crozer  was  in  doino-  jjood  to  his 
fellow-men,  we  can  infer  from  an  entry  in  his  diary, 
which  describes  the  work  of  a  sinjrle  dav:  "Meetinjr 
of  Business  Committee  of  Media  Institution  for  Fee- 
ble-minded Children,  and  the  settlement  of  contrac- 
tor's account.  Then,  noon -day  prayer-meeting  ;  and  I 
have,  1   think,  never  h'en    jn-esent  at  a  more  stirring 


16S 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


and  edifying  prayor-meeting.  The  room  <|uite  lull, 
and  a  divine  infliienee  seemed  manifest.  Manv  hearts 
melted,  many  souls  were  devoutfy  engaged.  I  felt  that 
it  was  good  to  be  there.  In  the  afternoon  at  four 
o'clock.  Board  of  Colonization  Society.  I  had  notice 
to  attend  an  important  committee  meeting  at  Sunday 
School  Union,  at  the  same  hour;  als(>  a  meeting  of  the 
Children's  Home  Trustees,  at  the  same  hour;  and  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Baptist  Convention  at  three  o'clock. 
All  the  latter  1  had  to  miss." 

Three  davs  later  he  savs :  ^'  I  have  o-iven  awav 
pretty  largely  to  many  objects,  and  I  think  I  am 
reallv  desirous  to  add  to  them,  both  in  varietv  and 
amount,  as  cases  present  themselves  for  action  which 
I  think  of  the  right  kind.  But  in  these  gifts  I  find 
discrimination  an  essential  element ;  and  consequently 
must  disa}>})oiiu  many  apjdicants."  He  closes  the 
mention  of  this  subject  witli  the  ])raver:  "O  mv 
Lord,  enable  me  to  make  some  amends  for  the  sad 
waste  of  mv  time  and  talents.  Mav  I  burn,  as  it 
were,  to  do  good.  Lead  me  to  o])jects  of  usefulness  ; 
make  me  an  instrument  in  thv  hands  to  o-lorifv  thee 
in  my  humble  way,  in  doing  good  t<>  tliy  cj-catures  on 
eartli.  T  fervently  entreat  thee,  ()  my  heavenly 
Father,  to  pity  and  forgive,  for  Christ-  -akc,  my 
weight  of  sins,  both  of  commission  and  omission." 

Mr.    Crozei*   was   a    devout    worshij)er,    and    gave 


I 


LIVE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


169 


earnest  heed  to  proprieties  which  should  be  always 
observed  by  members  of  a  Christian  congregation. 
On  the  subject  of  singing  as  an  act  of  public  worship, 
his  mind  was  exercised,  as  the  minds  of  many  sincere 
Christians  have  been.     In  relation  to  those  who  lead 
he  says:  "Singing  in  places  of  devotion  is  designed 
as  worship ;  and  should,  I  think,  be  the  act  of  real 
worshipers.     I  would  not  exclude  all  others,  but  such 
only  should  take  the  lead ;  such  only  should  have  the 
responsibility.     Singing 'also,  when  well   performed, 
has  a  happy  influence  in  calming  the  mind  and  sooth- 
ing each  ruffled  passion  ;  an<l  thus,  with  its  softening 
influence,  prepares  the  heart  for  the  preaching  of  the 
word  and  the  reception  of  divine  truth." 

The  employment  of  professional  singers,  such  as 
appear  in  the"  opera  house,  to  lead  the  worship  of  a 
Christian  congregation,  was  offensive  to  his  sensitive 
and  devout  mind ;  and  in  that  particular  he  repre- 
sents a  very  large  body  of  the  followers  of  Jesus. 
Praise  is  as  much  an  act  of  worshij)  as  prayer ;  and 
no  C'hristian  would  think  of  calling  on  an  uncon- 
verted pereon  tolead  a  congregation  in  prayer. 

Mr.  Crozer  was  conscientious  in  the  jierformance 
of  his  religious  duties,  and  did  not  enter  upon  them 
unthinkingly  or  without  preparation.  As  the  teacher 
of  a  class  in  Sunday-sciiool  and  as  a  superintendent 
he  not  only  made  careful   prei^aration  by  study,  but 

15 


;:iiiiSSlSl^fift*ii 


170 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


he  sought  divine  direction  in  liis  closet.     It  was  his 
aim  to  pre])ai*e  himself  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord's 
Day  by  read  nig  apj)ropriate  books  and  bringing  his 
mind  into  right  trains  of  thought  and  feeling.     It 
Avas  not  easy  for  him  to  dismiss  any  subject  from  his 
mind  which  had  earnestly  engaged  his  attention;  a 
fact  that  he  greatly  deplored,  but  which  was  insepa- 
rable from  a  certain  tenacity  of  purpose  to  which  he 
was   greatly   indebted   for  his   success.     Here   is  an 
entry  made  on  a  Saturday  evening  preceding  a  com- 
munion Sundav:  "  This  afternoon  I  have  been  readiuir 
Bickersteth  on  Comnumion,  and  endeavoring  to  jire- 
pare    my   mind    a    little    for  the   solemnities  of  tlie 
morrow.     I   wish  not  to  come  thoujrhtk'sslv  to  the 
Lord's  table.     1  would  'examine  mvself,  and  so  eat  of 
that  bread  and  drink  of  that  cup.'"     AVe  find   licre 
and  there  an   entry  like  this:   "To-morrow   is  our 
comnuniion  season.     I  wish  to  make  some  preparation 
for  the  solemn  occasion."     On  a  comnuuiion  dav  in 
autumn  he  made  this  minute  in  his  diarv :  "The  fall 
of  the  leaf;   a  dav  rather  cloud v  and  doomv :   the 

smallness  of  my  family  since  the  B 's  have  lefl 

us;  reflections  upon  days  long  since  gone;  a  visit  to 
the  grave  of  my  dear  Sallie,  and  otlier  loved  ones  in 
the  same  church-yard, — all  tlnsc  have  cast  a  deep 
thoughtfulness  over  my  mind,  approaching  to  sadness, 
yet  I  regret  it  not.     Beflection  tluis  induccKl  tends  to 


i 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


171 


soften  the  heart  and  weaken  worldly  influences.  I 
wish  this  afternoon  to  direct  my  mind  to  topics  of 
thouo-ht  which  will  cherish  emotion  and  enable  me  to 
contemplate  the  wondrous  love  and  condescension  of 
this  'dear  dying  Christ'  whose  suffering  I  have  this 
day  with  our  little  church  been  commemoi'ating.  Oh, 
this  amazing  condescension!  incredible!  Yet  I  be- 
lieve; O  my  God,  help  my  unbelief!  In  the  face  of 
that  revelation,  which  I  cannot  doubt,  the  sacrifice 
seems  so  great  that  my  faith  staggers  under  the 
overwhelming  thought.  O  my  God,  strengthen  this 
faith !  I  adore  that  wondrous  love  to  puny  creatures 
such  as  I  am.     It  is   beyond  conception  wondrous. 

O  Christ ! 

" '  My  ftiith  would  lay  her  hand 

On  that  dear  head  of  thine.' " 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  purpose  of 
Mr.  Crozer  to  found  an  institution  of  learning  for  the 
benefit  of  the  youth  in  his  native  county.  At  one 
time  his  brethren  of  another  denomination  proposed 
establishing  a  college  at  Chester,  and  he  was  invited 
to  join  in  the  enterprise.  He  entertained  the  proposi- 
tion; but  when,  on  examination,  he  saw  that  the 
institution  w^ould  be  conducted  in  the  interests  of 
those  who  were,  to  use  liis  words,  "not  always 
friendlv  to  his  ow^n  denomination,"  he  declined  to 
participate   in  the   project.     Seeing  no  other  way  to 


172 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  VROZKR. 


carrv  out  his  views,  he  desio-ned  a  school  of  \\\\y\\ 
grade  at  Upland,  and  for  the  purposes  of  the  institu- 
tion erected  a  large  and  commodious  building  at  the 
cost  of  fortv-five  thousand  dollars,  on  an  eminence 
south  of  what  had  now  grown  to  be  the  thriving 
village  of  Upland. 

This  enterprise  was  one  which  he  had  long  con- 
templated, and  he  was  exceedingly  anxious  that  the 
plan  of  the  institution  should  be  wisely  laid  and 
energetieallv  carried  out.  He  soujrht  counsel  on  this 
subject  from  the  venerable  Dr.  Way  land,  whose  long 
and  successful  administration  as  President  of  Brown 
University  pre-eminently  fitted  him  to  advise.  The 
letters  which  passed  between  them  possess  a  perma- 
nent interest  : 


"Upland,  Aprils,  1858. 
"Rev.  F.  Waylaxd,  D.  D  : 

"Dear  Sir: — Our  acquaintance  is  but  slight,  yet 
I  presume  you  will  not  consider  me  intrusive  in 
asking  some  advice  of  you,  who  have  made  education 
a  subject  of  m  much  thought  and  study. 

"I  am  erecting  a  building  for  educational  i)urposes, 
capable  of  receiving  over  one  Iiundred  boarding 
students,  beside  the  household  attendants,  <Scq.  The 
instruction  and  lecture-rooms  are  suited  for  double 
that  number.     The  buildino;  and  irrounds  will   cost 


M 


S'ijAa8fii>tgaa»«WBa'4ai..«-r  s— . 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


173 


about  forty -five  thousand  dollars,  and  I  shall  endow 
the  institution  with  the  balance  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollai-s  (say,  fifty-five  thousand  dollars)  certainly; 
probably  much  more,  if  my  life  is  spared  and  the 
school  shall  promise  great  usefulness. 

"Now,  How  shall  I  shape  this  institution  to  be 
most  useful  to  this  my  native  neighborhood  and  to 
the  community  generally  ?  is  the  question  I  desire  to 
submit  to  you.  My  mind  leans  strongly  to  a  school 
of  more  popular  character  than  a  university — some- 
thing of  the  nature  of  a  liigh  school,  with  a  normal 
de])artment,  and  for  both  sexes.  Our  common-school 
teachers  in  this  vicinity  are  often  sadly  deficient.  I 
desire  it  to  be  an  institution  where  a  thorough  educa- 
tion can  be  had  for  practical  or  lousiness  life,  but  the 
dead  languages  not  to  have  undue  prominence. 

"I  wish  to  have  the  school  open  in  the  autumn; 
and  it  is  therefore  now  time  to  determine  its  character. 
One  thing  especially  embarasses  me,  viz. :  how  to 
secure  a  permanent  religious  element,  for  I  have  not 
thought  of  giving  it  a  denominational  <.*haracter  or 
bias. 

"The  foregoing  will  give  you  some  idea  of  my 
position  in  this  enterprise ;  and  any  advice  or  sugges- 
tion will  niucli  oblige  me. 

"  Yours  respectfully. 


"John  P.  Crozer." 


15* 


174 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


"  Providence,  April  12,  1858. 
"My  Dear  Sir:— Your  favor  of  April  8tli  has 
just  readied  me.     I  will  offer  a  few  suggestions  on 
the  subject  which  occur  to  me. 

"  Your  views  of  this  subject  correspond  very  much 
w^ith  my  own.  I  see  verv  clearlv  the  defect  of  ordinary 
college  education.  It  is,  from  its  character,  limited  to 
a  very  small  class,  and  reallv  affects  hardlv  anv  but 
those  entering  what  is  called  the  professions.  It  has 
no  place  really  for  merchants,  manuficturers,  mechan- 
ics, and  men  of  business  generally.  It  absorbs  so 
much  time  in  the  study  of  what  they  do  not  want, 
and  gives  so  little  time  to  what  thev  want,  that  thcv 
will  not  take  the  course.  An  institution  such  as  vou 
propo^T  is  calculated  to  accomplish  great  good.  The 
normal  department  I  consid(»r  of  great  value. 

'^  The  general  character  of  the  school  is,  however,  in 
many  respects  already  fixed  by  the  buildings,  which, 
you  write,  are  approaching  completion.  The  union 
of  the  sexes  in  a  sclux )1  (►f  this  kind  is  a  feature 
with  which  T  have  no  practical  acquaintance.  It  was 
done  wlien  I  was  a  boy;  but,  as  I  remember,  with 
some  d  i  -a d  va n  ta jres . 

"You  ask  what  shall  be  done  to  maintain  the 
religious  cliaracter  of  the  institution?  This  is  the 
most  difficult  thing  in  all  the  undertaking.  It  creates 
the  great  danger  of  all  our  institutions  of  learninL^ 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


175 


I  know  the  difficulty  in  a  college ;  but  what  it  would 
be,  or  how  best  guarded  against,  in  an  institution 
such  as  yours,  I  should  hardly  dare  advise.  A  sen- 
sible, practical  teacher,  who  had  done  the  work  him- 
self, could  best  decide. 

"The  difficulty  is  simply  this:  Young  persons  at 
the  age  of  your  people  require  the  most  restraint  and 
are  the  most  unwilling  to  submit  to  it ;  and  too 
frequently  their  parents  take  sides  with  them.  The 
ever-increasing  temptations  render  the  danger  more 
and  more  pressing.  Much  depends  on  the  selection 
of  the  right  man  to  organize  the  school  and  give  it 
its  first  bias.  In  this,  I  trust,  the  good  Lord  will 
direct  you.  He  who  has  put  it  into  your  heart  to  do 
this  thing  has,  I  doubt  not,  been  preparing  the  means 
to  aid  you  in  carrying  it  to  perfection.  May  he 
direct  and  guide  and  bless  you  in  it !     I  am, 

"  Mv  dear  brother, 

"  Yours  trulv, 

"F.  Waylaxd. 
"  J.  P.  Crozer,  Esq." 

As  the  time  approached  for  opening  the  school,  he 
says:  "I  feel  deeply  solicitous.  I  hope  I  have  done 
riirht,  but  sometimes  led  that  I  have  not  taken  the 
best  measures.  Yet  I  cannot  but  trust  that  all  will 
prove  well.  I  shall  try  to  commit  all  to  my  Lord 
and  ^Laster,  and  seek  his  guidance. 


176 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  K  VROZER. 


The  school  was  (hily  opened  on  tlio  completion  of 
the  edifice  in  September,  lSo8.     The  design,  as  set 
forth  by  its  founder,  was,  ''  to  furnish  at  a  reduced 
cost  a  comprehensive,  thorough,  and  practical  educa- 
tion for  business,  teaching,  college,  and  any  literary 
or  professional   pursuit/'     As  an  institution,  it  was 
eminently  worthy;    i)ut  from   tlie   first    it   became  a 
source  of  anxiety  to  its  founder.     The  scarlet  fever  in 
a   malignant  form  apj)eare<l   among  the  pu])ils  and 
scattered  them.     It  was  subsequently  visited  by  tlie 
small-pox,  and  the  work  of  instruction  for  a  second 
time    was   suspended.     Wlien    tliese    calamities    had 
passed,  and   tlie  institution   was  again   in  operation, 
there  was  found  to  be  nuich  diffieulty  in  obtaining 
suitable  instructors.     Besides  all  this,  the  enterprise 
failed  to  meet  the  exjiectations  of  Mr.  Crozer  as  a 
scheme  of  benevolence.     It  was  expensively  cond ucted 
as  a  means  of  usefulness,   but   its  advantages   were 
enjoyed  maiidy  by  those  wlio  could  not  be  regarded 
as  ( .bjects  of  Ix^nevolence.     It  was  liighly  appreciated, 
not  only  for  its   Avorth,  but   also   for  its   clieapness. 
And  itB  founder  l)egan  to  feel  tliat  his  purpose  of 
benevolenc*e  was  at  fimlt.     But  he  had  builded  wiser 
than  he  knew,  a>  tlie  >e(piel  will  disclose.     And  the 
subsequent  history  of  this  spacious  edifiee,  when  it  was 
crowded  with  the  sick  aud  wounded  of  our  patriot 
soldiery,  and  its  final  consecration  as  a  '^<chool  of  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


177 


prophets,'^  will  amply  confirm  the  opinion  that  the 
same  benignant  Providence  w^iich  had  enkindled  in 
his  heart  the  desire  for  usefulness  was  now  presiding 
over  its  results. 

In  answering  his  oft-repeated  and  earnest  prayer  to 
be  led  to  some  sphere  of  greater  usefulness,  the  Lord 
caused  his  attention  to  be  directed  to  the  work  of 
ministerial  education.  The  growth  of  his  interest  in 
this  subject  is  briefly  exhibited  in  an  extract  from  a 
letter,  written  by  the  Bev.  G.  M.  Spratt,  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  of  the  Pennsylvania  Baptist  Education 
Society : 

"My  first  interview  with  Mr.  Crozer  was  in  the 
month  of  October,  1851.  We  had  some  conversation, 
in  which  he  frankly  stated  some  objections  to  my  mis- 
sion ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  earnestly  pressed  me  to 
pay  him  a  visit  for  the  purpose  of  giving  him  fuller 
information.  Accordingly,  a  few  weeks  after  this,  I 
had  a  pleasant  and  profitable  interview  with  him  at 
his  residence. 

"His  mind  seemed  absorbed  in  the  one  theme — the 
Baptist  churches  and  the  ministry  of  the  State.  On 
my  remarking,  that  we  had  a  pious  and  devoted  min- 
istry, but  needed  also  men  of  liberal  culture  for  pro- 
•minent  points  of  influence,  he  quickly  caught  the  idea 
and  remarked:  'Then  you  would  propose  to  increase 
the  growth  of  the  denomination  by  j)reparing  young 


178 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEOZFE, 


men  to  occupy  these  strong  points.  \V  ell,  I  see  no 
objection  to  the  measure,  provided  ycni  secure  the 
right  kind  of  young  men.  But  everything  must 
depend  upon  their  being  pious  and  devoted.' 

"In  a  few  days  he  forwarded  to  our  treasurer  one 
hundred  dollars.  The  next  year,  on  my  calling  on 
him,  he  remarked:  ^It  is  my  design  to  take  hold  of 
this  work  in  earnest.  I  see  good  in  it.'  It  is  need- 
less to  add  that  from  this  period  until  the  year  of  his 
death  he  manifested  deep  interest  in  tlie  cause  of 
ministerial  education. 

"In  the  year  1852,  he  was  elected  a  vice-president 
of  the  society.  In  1855,  he  became  its  president. 
One  fact  may  here  be  noticed.  Owing  to  his  great 
reluctance  to  appear  in  a  prominent  position,  it  was 
sometimes  impossible  to  secure  his  presence  and  action 
at  the  annual  meetings.  But  at  the  meetings  of 
the  Board  he  was  seldom,  if  ever,  either  absent  or 
tardy. 

"At  these  meetings  his  counsel  was  invaluable,  and 
the  advice  and  exhortations  given  to  l)eneficiaries  on 
their  admission  were  peculiarly  impressive.  The 
subject-matter  was  well  tliought  out,  and  delivered 
with  evident  emotion  and  great  spirituality  of  mind. 

"So  intense  was  his  interest  in  ministerial  students, 
he  could  not  rest  satisfied  with  ordinary  and  general 
statements.      He  wanted  details.     On   several   occa- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZE R. 


179 


sions,  after  writing  a  full  sheet,  and  then  apologizing 
for  its  undue  length,  I  have  received  the  reply,  *Do 
not  fear  taxing  my  patience  by  minute  details.  You 
will  tax  my  patience  niucli  more  by  not  giving  them. 
I  want  all  these  incidents.  They  go  to  make  up 
character.  Please  do  not  be  sparing  in  letting  me 
know  how  each  beneficiary  is  advancing,  both  in 
spiritual  and  intellectual  i)ursuits.'  From  time  to 
time  he  wrote  such  sentences  as  the  following : 
*  My  heart  is  in  this  good  work.  I  am  glad  you  are 
succeeding  as  well  as  vou  are.  It  must  be  a  work  of 
time.  The  results  will  be  glorious.'  I  might  thus 
quote  from  scores  of  letters. 

"Mr.  Crozer's  benevolent  regard  for  the  students 
did  not  flow  simply  within  the  channels  of  an  organ- 
ized society.  On  many  occasions  he  privately  relieved 
the  pressing  wants  of  those  who  were  needy.  He 
insisted  that  I  should  kcc])  him  informed  of  their 
wants;  and  would  often,  unsolicited,  send  me  sums  of 
money  to  be  disbursed  according  to  my  judgment. 
AVith  the  report  of  such  expenditures  he  was  always 
l)leased." 

During  the  period  of  his  connection  with  the 
society  he  endowed  seven  scholarships  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  each,  making  an  aggregate  of  ten 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  in  addition  to  his  other 
contributions  to  this  work. 


\*   •>■     M  VF^-, 


180 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEE, 


Among  the  many  charities  wliieli  claimed  liis 
attention  and  received  liis  generous  aid,  was  the 
"Pennsylvania  Trainino;  School  for  Feeble-minded 
Cliildren."  Perhaps  no  class  of  our  suffering  fellow- 
creatures  have  been  more  sadly  neglected  than  the 
unfortunate  children  who  come  within  the  scope  of 
this  noble  charity.  It  is  not  surprising  that,  with 
his  tender  and  sympathizing  nature,  he  should  have 
become  deeply  interested  in  the  wellare  of  such  an 
institution,  or  that  from  an  early  period  of  its  history 
his  name  should  have  been  associated  with  its  })ro- 
gress.  His  diary  al)ounds  in  evidences  of  the  deep 
interest  which  he  cherished  in  its  welfare.  He  de- 
voted much  time  and  money  to  the  acconn)lishnient 
of  its  objects.  As  early  as  18(30  his  donations  to  it 
had  reached  the  sum  of  $10,000.  He  was  a  faithful 
working  member  of  its  Board ;  and  on  the  death  of 
its  president,  the  lamented  Bishop  Potter,  Mr.  Crozer 
was  elected  his  successor. 

Some  years  before  the  close  of  his  life  Mr.  Crozer 
resiii^ned  his  ])lace  as  teacher  in  the  Sundav  school — a 
place  wliich  he  had  held  for  over  thirty  years — but 
continued  to  act  a-  -ii[)erintendent.  Eighteen  months 
after  the  ehunire  he  made  this  entrv  in  his  diarv:  "I 
desire  to  feel  thankful  that  I  have  [)ersevered,  under 
many  disconragements,  to  preside  as  sn|H'rintendent ; 
for  altiiougii    I    iuive  no  evidence  of  |)ersonal  nseful- 


•II 


Ill,    #■ 


Hiiit'ii 


>i   ,1 


ao 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


181 


I 


ness  in  the  recent  cases  of  conversion,  yet  I  do  feel 
that  my  unwearied  perseverance  as  superintendent  has 
had  a  general  good  influence  on  teachers  and  also  on 
learners.  To-day  we  liad  nine  baptized,  seven  of 
whom  were  from  the  Sundav-school,  and  the  interest 
still  continues.     The  hand  of  God  is  in  the  w^ork.'- 

rhe  congregation  at  the  liouse  of  worship  erected 
by  ^Ir.  Crozer  at  Upland  increased  so  much  that  in 
l^(il  tlie  building  was  limnd  to  be  quite  too  small, 
and  ]Mr.  Crozer  enlarged  its  capacity  at  an  expense  to 
himself  of  about  eight  thousand  dollars.  The  re- 
dedication  of  the  house  was  an  occasion  of  very  deep 
interest  to  him  and  to  liis  iamilv. 

AVhen  the  murmurs  of  Southern  discontent  Avere 
followed  by  the  rumbling  of  war,  Mr.  Crozer  was 
oppressed  in  spirit.  He  was  a  lover  of  peace — a 
hater  of  war  and  bloodshed.  He  had  always  re- 
garded slavery  as  a  stain  upon  the  flag;  in  j^olitical 
economy,  a  blunder;  in  morals  and  religion,  a  wrong. 
With  the  spirit  which  could  countenance  and  defend 
it,  he  had  nothing  in  common.  To  the  idea  of  its 
further  extension,  he  was  firmly  opposed;  but,  in  com- 
mon with  most  of  his  brethren  at  the  Xorth,  he  had 
regarded  it  as  sectional  and  not  national — an  evil  which 
must  be  left  to  the  action  of  the  States  in  which  it 
unhappily  existed.  Hence  he  favored  all  proper  con- 
ciliation and  forbearance,  but  not  to  the  stifling  of  free 


182 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


discussion  or  tlie  suppression  of  the  truth.     He  would 
have  said  with  AVhittier: 

*'  Hold,  while  ye  may,  your  struggling  slaves,  and  burden  God'3 

free  air 
With  woman's  shriek  beneath   the  lash,  and  manhood's  wild 

despair ; 
Cling  closer  to  the  cleaving  curse  that  writes  upon  your  plains 
The  blasting  of  Almighty  wrath  against  a  land  of  chains!" 

And  with  Whittier  he  would  have  added : 

"  We  wage  no  war — we  lift  no  arm — we  Hing  no  torch  within 
The  fire-damps  of  the  quaking  mine  beneath  your  soil  of  sin. 
We  leaveyon  with  your  bondmen,  to  struggle  while  ye  can 
W^ith  the  strong  upward  tendencies  and  God-like  soul  of  man." 

He  had  hoped  that  this  fruitful  cause  of  dis- 
sension miglit  have  })assed  away  without  a  disrup- 
tion of  the  ties  which  bound  the  States  in  union. 
Believing  w^th  Ednuuid  Burke,  that  "It  is  supreme 
neef.«.*?V?/  alone — a  necessity  that  is  not  chosen,  but 
chooses — a  necessity  paramount  to  deliberation,  that 
admits  no  disctission  and  demands  no  evidence — which 
can  alone  justity  a  resort  to  anarchy,"  he  coidd 
hardly  believe  tliat  the  South  would  enter  upon  hos- 
tilities in  the  l)ad  cause  of  chatti'l  slavery.  Xo  such 
necessity  existed.  They  had  suffered  neither  in  ])er- 
son  nor  estate.  The  person  of  a  Southern  man  was 
as  safe  in  Boston  as  in  Charleston.  His  cotton  had 
never  brought  him  larger  profits;  and  even  his  slave 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


183 


was  daily  increasing  in  his  market  value.  No  iron 
had  entered  his  soul,  and  there  w^as  no  justification  for 
resort  to  that  last  and  most  terrible  of  ordeals. 

Educated  in  the  love  of  the  republic,  and  taught 
from  the  Scriptures  his  duty  of  obedience  to  the  civil 
trovernment,  he  reo:arded  rebellion  as  a  crime  involv- 
in**-  anarchy.     Much  as  he  loved  peace,  strongly  as 
he    had   hoped    that   never   again,    in   this   country, 
should  we  incur  the  calamities  of  war;  yet,  when  the 
nation^^  property  was  seized  by  force,  when  hostile 
batteries  were  opened   upon  a   national-  fort,  he  felt 
that  there  was  no  escape — that  force  must  be  met  by 
force,  and  disobedient   wickedness  subdued.     In  the 
fearful  conflict  which  ensued  he  stood  firmly,  from  the 
first,  bv  the  cause  of  his  country.     He  invested  largely 
in  the  national  loan  in  that  early  period  of  the  war 
when  such  an  investment  was  a  test  of  patriotism. 
His  spacious  building,  which  had  been  erected  for  a 
normal    school,    he   placed    at   the   disposal   of   the 
government  for  a  hospital,  at  a  time  when  every  inch 
of  room  was  needed  for  the  sick  and  wounded  of  our 
suiferino;   armv.     He   contributed  to  the   raising  of 
troops  in  the  county,  and  risked  that  largest  venture 
of  a  father's  heart — a  son  to  command  them.*     He 
himself  remained  at  home  to  labor  in  a  work  of  no  less 
importance — the  work  of  the  Christian  Commission. 

*  Captain  George  K.  Crozer. 


184 


LIF-E  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZE R. 


Of  this  institution  lie  was  one  of  the  founders.  In 
company  with  ^Ir.  George  H.  Stuart,  he  was  a[)- 
pointed  to  represent  the  city  of  Philadelphia  at 
that  meeting  in  Xew  York,  Xovember  14,  1861,  at 
whicli  the  Commission  was  originated.  From  Sep- 
tember, 1862,  to  the  end  of  the  struggle,  he  was  a 
working  member  of  its  executive  committee.  He 
was  one  of  the  few  men  who,  from  the  first,  enter- 
tained no  doubt  of  its  success.  His  uniform  cheerful- 
ness and  iirmness,  even  in  the  dark  davs  of  its  earlv 
history,  did  much  to  strengthen  and  encoura.;i^  others. 
IVIany  u  ;?oldier,  whose  wounds  were  dressed,  whose 
fevered  lips  were  moistened,  upon  whose  ear  the 
words  of  Christian  consolation  fell  like  sweetest 
music,  was  indebted  to  the  cheerful  courage  and  the 
manlv  firmness  of  this  unwaverinir  friend  of  tlie 
Commission. 

He  was  not  only  a  faitliful  lal)orer  in  the  work  of 
the  Commission,  but  a  very  generous  contributor  to 
its  funds.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  Commission 
held  its  memorable  meeting  in  the  ( 'hurch  of  the 
Epiphany,  he  subscribed  five  thousand  dollars;  and 
four  membett  of  his  ftimilv,  fourteen  hundred  more. 
The  sum  of  his  contributions  to  the  cause  of  his  coun- 
try during'  the  www  iiiclndiiig  amuunis  to  the  Chris- 
tian Commission,  donations  to  various  hospitals, 
moneys  for  the  raising  of  troops,  and  subseripiions  for 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


185 


the  suffering  freedmen,  were  hardly  less  than  twenty 
thousand  dollars.  To  tlie  Commission  alone,  he  gave 
the  sum  of  ten  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  aside 
from  the  subscriptions  of  his  family. 

The  desire  to  be  useful,  which  Mr.  Crozer  so  often 
expressed  in  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  was 
intensified  with  advancing  age.  One  autumn  evening, 
while  walking  his  piazza,  and  looking  out  on  the 
beautiful  scenery  that  surrounded  his  Upland  home, 
the  falling  leaf  with  its  variegated  hues  attracted  his 
notice,  and  the  fading  glory  of  forest  and  glade  sent 
his  thoughts  retrospecting  over  days  and  years  long 
since  gone  by,  he  says:  "I  need  such  reflections  to 
remind  me  that  I  am  now  an  old  man  on  the  vergre 
of  etcrnitv,  and  to  make  me  more  active  in  mv  as^e  to 
glorify  my  Lord  and  Master.  Oh,  that  this  feeling 
would  not  leave  me  for  one  hour  while  I  remain  on 
earth!" 

To  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Benjamin  Griffith,  he  wrote 
on  his  birthday,  in  1862,  the  following  letter,  whicli 
will  aptly  illustrate  the  cliaracter  of  his  communica- 
tions to  his  children,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it 
indicates  the  ordinary  tone  of  his  reflections  at  this 
period : 

"Upland,  January  13,  1862. 
''My   Deaii   Daughter   Libbie: — This   is   my 
birthday.     To-day  I  complete  the  allotted  time  for 

16  ■*■ 


186 


LIFE  OF  J  any  p.  vnozFU. 


man  on  earth — tlireescore  and  ten  years;  and, 
tliont-'h  mv  health  is  i^^ood  and  my  natural  force  but 
partially  abated,  it  well  becomes  me  to  pause  and 
meditate  over  the  past,  and  to  look  upon  what  future 
time  the  Ahniirhtv  mav  allot  to  me  on  earth  as  a  kind 
of  extra  allowance — a  special  dispensation,  for  which 
I  am  increasedly  responsible  to  him. 

"Your  father  has  been  highly  blessed  in  life. 
Blessed  with  a  pious  and  devoted  mother;  with  a 
mmt  excellent  constitution  of  body ;  with  a  mind  not 
below,  perhaps  rather  above,  mediocrity ;  with  a  fair 
moral  training  in  early  religious  impressions — whicli, 
alas  !  for  very  manv  vears  of  mv  life  were  i)artiallv  set 
aside — which  have  ended  as  I  trust  in  sincere  love  to 
God  a::d  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — yet  often 
with  many  doubts  and  (M^nflicts.  Blessed,  too,  in 
habits  of  industry  and  untiring  api)lication,  scarcely 
surpassed  by  any.  Blessed  in  the  results  of  this 
industry,  aided  as  it  was  by  the  gift  <^f  a  sound  and 
discriminating  jtidgment  in  business  matters,  which 
has  resulted  in  a  large  ncrnmiilation  of  property. 

"If  I  know  mvself  at  all,  I  feel  tliankful  for  these 
gifts,  and  do  feel  them  as  gifts  of  my  heavenly 
Father,  attended,  especially  the  last  mentioned,  with 
a  solemn  and  awful  responsibility,  which  sometimes 
op}n'esses  me. 

"But  I  have  far  higher  earthly  blessings  to  record. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


187 


The  foremost  of  these  is  your  precious  mother.  My 
habits  of  life,  as  you  know,  are  domestic ;  and  my 
highest  enjoyments  have  ever  been  in  the  bosom  of 
my  family.  The  kind  and  affectionate  welcome  and 
tender  sympathies  and  embraces  of  this  loved  one 
have  been  the  solace  (»f  my  life. 

"I  should  be  most  ungrateful  if  I  failed  to  esteem 
her  the  choicest  gift  which  the  Almighty  has  bestowed 
upon  me.  Truly,  all  other  earthly  blessings  sink  into 
insignilicance  compared  with  this. 

"And  in  my  dear  children,  one  and  all,  oh,  how 
am  I  blessed  !  how  may  I  rejoice  that  all  of  you 
have,  as  I  ti  ust,  given  yourselves  to  the  Saviour ! 
that  you  are  all  conscientious  and  exemplary  in  life ! 
Ambition  may  have  prompted  me  to  desire  that  my 
sons  should  iill  more  conspicuous  places  in  society. 
But  such  desire,  when  it  presents  itself,  soon  yields  to 
the  reflection  that  they  are  correct  and  res])ectable 
younir  men,  and  useful  in  their  callinii:,  and  in  all 
probability  may — some  o^  them,  at  least — occui)y 
more  useful  places  in  life  than  their  father  has  done. 

"  But  I  can  readily  yield  every  ambitious  desire 
for  the  hope  that  my  children  are  Christians,  sincere 
Christians.  You  will  see  from  the  foregoing,  my 
dear  damrhter,  the  tone  and  character  of  mv  reflec- 
tions  on  this  my  birthday.  ]My  heart  is  much  drawn 
out   in   love  to   mv  d(^ar  fnniilv.     I   have  made   no 


188 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


reference  to  mv  urandehildren ;  vet  I  find  myself 
becoming  more  and  more  attached  to  tliem  as  years 
increase  and  as  I  near  mv  end. 

"A  ftill  heart  to-day  would  dictate  a  longer  letter, 
but  I  close  with  the  prayer — the  j)rayer  of  a  devoted 
father — that  you  and  yours  may  be  blessed  in  life  as 
I  have  been  and  still  am.  It  would  be  almost  sinful 
to  wish  for  vou  greater  blessings  than  these. 
"  Your  affectionate  father, 

"  John  P.  Crozer." 

Another  letter,  which  he  sent  to  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
W.  Bucknell,  in  the  following  year,  will  be  found 
interesting,  as  it  shows  his  care  for  the  usefulness 
of  his  children.  It  is  also  interesting  from  the 
statements  of  his  own  later  views  of  ])ractical 
benevolence : 

"Upland,  June  8,  18G3. 

"  My  DexVr  Daughter  Maggie  : — Mv  desire  is 
to  have  vou  hijxhlv  useful ;  and  as  i)ecuniarv  means 
add  greatly  to  one's  ability  to  do  good,  I  commit  to 
you  now,  while  I  am  living,  a  considerable  part  of 
what  would  be  your  portion  after  my  decease. 

"  I  will  not  dictate  to  vou  how  vour  income  shall  be 
disposed  of.  A  disposition  prevails  pintty  generally 
in  the  religious  community,  especially  amongst  pious 
ladies,   to   give   largely   for    tlie    erection    of  church 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  (JROZER. 


189 


edifices  and  the  support  of  churches  and  ministers. 
This  is  all  well  enough,  if  not  done  to  the  exclusive, 
or  even  partial,  neglect  of  suff.-ring  humanity. 

"  Of  late  years  my  inclination  is  towards  the  poor 
and  needy  and  the  afflicted.  I  wish  I  could  always 
look  personally  after  individual  and  familv  cases  of 
suffering  and  want ;  but,  in  the  absence  of  this  ability, 
I  must  work  through  societies  and  individuals  ;  and  I 
am  thankful,  or  try  to  be,  that  I  have  the  means  and 
the  disposition  to  do  much  for  physical  suffering. 

"All  I  enjoin  on  you,  my  dear  child,  is  that  vou 
will  not  suffer  your  income  to  accunudate  ;  vet  on  the 
other  hand  that  you  will  not  anticipate  it  by  con- 
tracting debts,  or  making  promises  in  advance  of 
your  actual  receipts. 

"  Most  affectionately,  your  flither, 

"  JoHx  P.  Crozer." 

About  this  time  he  savs  :  "  I  am  chief! v  en^rao'ed  in 
reading  the  Sunday-school  publications,  and  feel  in- 
creasingly interested  in  behalf  of  children.  I  think 
that  efforts  to  shape  the  minds  of  the  vouno«  are  of 
the  gn^atest  consequence,  and  I  am  deeply  desirous  to 
do  something  for  their  permanent  benefit.'^  It  was 
under  the  im})ulse  of  this  desire,  coupled  with  a  wish 
to  act  somewhat  in  undenominational  modes  of  use- 
fulness,  that   he  attached   himself  to  the   American 


190 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEB. 


Suiidav-school  Union.  In  this  society  he  took  the 
same  interest,  acted  with  the  same  energy,  and  gave 
M  ith  the  same  liberality,  that  he  afterwards  manifested 
in  the  American  Baptist  Pnblication  Society.  When 
he  finally  resigned  liis  place  in  the  Board,  and  retired 
from  active  participation  in  its  affairs,  he  writes  :  ''  I 
love  the  Sunday-school  Union  cause,  and  regret  that 
its  interests  have  not  abler  and  wiser  advocates." 
His  donations  and  loans  to  the  Sunday-school  Union 
amounted  to  a  very  large  sum. 

In  less  than  three  years  after  he  ceased  to  act  with 
the  Sunday-school  Union,  he  gave  shape  to  his  desire 
to  do  something  for  "the  permanent  benetit"  of  chil- 
dren bv  o-ivinu*  to  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society,  in  trust,  ten  thousand  dollars  in  aid  of  Sun- 
day-school libraries.  The  gift  is  known  as  the  "  John 
P.  Crozer  Sunday-school  Library  Fund.''  The  par- 
ticulars of  the  gift  and  its  acceptance  are  taken  from 
the  records  of  the  society : 

"Upland,  Febmary  18,  1864. 

"  To  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society : 
"Peak  Bketitrex: — Each  succeeding  year  of  my 
life  I  become  more  deeply  impressed  with  the  import- 
ance of  reliirious  effort  on  behalf  of  those  in  child- 
hood and  early  youth;  and  as  a  natural  consequence, 


LIFE   OF  J  OILY  P.  CROZER. 


191 


I 
I 


I  wish  our  Society  to  devote  increased  attention  to  the 
publication  and  more  w^ide  circulation  of  evangelical 
Sunday-school  literature. 

"I  think  many  of  the  books  we  circulate,  part  of 
them,  too,  of  our  own  issues,  might  be  dispensed 
with,  or  substituted  by  others  of  a  more  evangelical 
character.  But  in  the  hands  of  our  able  Publication 
Committee,  I  doiil)t  not,  a  change  for  the  better  will 
be  kept  in  [>rogress. 

"  I  have  been  much  exercised  in  my  own  mind  as 
to  what  mode  I  might  best  adopt,  in  order  to  aid  the 
society  in  effecting  g(K>d  by  its  labors  in  the  Sunday- 
school  work.  A  decision  has  finally  been  made  to 
encourage  the  fot^^iatiox  of  Sunday-schools  in  desti- 
tute places,  where  no  such  schools  have  heretofore 
existed,  and  to  aid,  to  some  extent,  those  which  have 
been  newly  formed.  And  witli  this  object  in  view,  I 
pro|)Ose  to  donate  in  trust  to  the  American  Baj)tist 
Publication  Society,  in  per[)etuity,  the  sum  of 

TE:N    THULfeAM)    DOLLAKS, 

subjeci  to  the  following  conditions  and  reservations, 
viz. : 

"This  sum  often  thousand  dollars  is  to  be  invested 
and  kept  in  United  States  or  in  Pennsylvania  State 
Government  loans,  or  in  the  funded  debt  of  the  city 
of  Philadel}>hi:.,  or   in  bond   and  first   mortgage   on 


102 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEO  ZEE. 


real  estate  in  said  eity,  or  in  well-seeured  ground-rents, 
also  to  be  in  said  city — as  may  be  decided  upon  and 
approved  by  any  existing  Board  of  ^Managers  at  any 
stated  meeting  of  said  Board.  Such  approval,  how- 
ever, must  have  the  sanction  of  two-thirds  of  the 
members  of  the  Board.  The  yeas  of  those  voting  in 
the  affirmative  must  be  so  recorded  on  the  minutes. 
Negative  votes  may  also  be  recorded,  if  required  by 
the  Board,  or  if  asked  for  bv  the  member  or  members 
casting  negative  votes. 

"Should  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society, 
at  anv  future  time,  bv  anv  reirular  and  legitimate 
proceeding  or  action,  decide  to  change  its  name  or 
title,  or  to  become  united  with,  or  merge  into,  any 
kindred  society  of  the  Baptist  denomination  eugaged 
in  a  similar  work,  then  this  donation  may  be  placed 
under  the  direction  and  subject  to  the  control  of  such 
new  arrangement.  But  the  purj)oses  of  the  donor,  as 
herein  specified,  are  to  be  regarded;  and  neither  the 
jjrincipal  sum  ot  ten  thousand  dollars,  nor  the  income 
OF  revenue  accruing  therefrom,  is  to  be  directed  or 
suffered  to  flow  into  anv  new  channel,  or  for  other 
objects  than  those  herein  specified. 

"The  income,  or  revenue,  which  may  accrue  from 
the  investment  of  this  principal  sum  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  ia  to  form  and  become  a  fund  for  the  supply 
of    books    and    jiublications    to    neir    Sunday-schools 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEE. 


193 


*  I  k 


\ 


formed,  or  in  progress  of  formation,  in  destitute 
places;  and  to  be  equally  applicable  for  schools  of 
white  and  of  colored  children. 

"All  api)lications  for  aid,  out  of  this  fund,  are  to 
be  disposed  of  in  the  usual  way  by  the  Board  of 
Managers;  with  this  condition,  however,  that  no 
school  shall  receive  the  benefit  of  this  fund  to  a 
greater  amount  of  value  than  that  of  the  one-hundred- 
volume  library  issued  by  the  society,  and  which,  until 
recently,  was  sold  for  ten  dollars. 

"Long  experience  has  confirmed  me  in  the  opinion 
that  gifts  and  benefactions  are  most  valued  and  gene- 
rally more  effective  wlien  not  obtained  without  some 
cost  or  effort.  I  would,  therefore,  strongly  recom- 
mend to  this  and  to  all  future  Boards  to  require,  as  a 
general  rule,  that  applicants  for  aid  from  this  fund 
shall,  as  a  condition,  be  required  to  purchase  from 
the  Depository  books  equal  in  value  to  the  amount 
donated.  There  may,  and  probably  will  be,  isolated 
cases  where  a  departure  from  this  rule  may  seem 
desirable;  therefore,  Avith  tlie  foregoing  expression  of 
what  seems  proper  as  a  rule,  the  donor  gives  a  discre- 
tionary power  to  the  Board. 

"The  terms  and  conditions  of  this  donation  are  to 
be  confirmed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  members 
present,  and  to  be  spread  in  full  upon  the  minutes  of 
the  Board ;  and  the  officers  to  be  empowered,  as  soon 

17  N 


194 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


as  the  money  is  })aid  Into  tlie  treasury,  to  furnisli  tlie 
donor  with  a  certified  copy  of  the  whole  proceedings 
connected  with  the  transaction. 

"John  P.  Crozer." 

RECEPTION  OF  THE  DONATION  BY  THE  BOARD. 

After  tlie  reading  of  this  communication,  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions,  on  motion  of  J.  W  heaton  Smith, 
were  unanimously  adopted,  viz.: 

"WiiKiiEAS,  John  P.  Crozer,  Esq.,  of  Delaware 
County,  Pennsylvania,  has  generously  tendered  to  the 
Board  of  the  American  ]]a[>tist  Publication  Society 
the  sum  of  iQw  thousand  dollars,  as  a  donation  for  a 
special  purpose,  and  on  certain  conditions  as  set  forth 
ill  the  above  communication; 

^^  Resolved  J  That  this  Board  do  cordially  and  grate- 
fully accept  from  Mr.  Crozer  said  donation  for  the 
purpose  and  on  the  conditions  named  by  him. 

'''  Resolved  J  That  this  fund  shall  be  entered  on  our 
minutes,  and  be  known  hereafter  in  our  records,  as 
tlie  John  P.  Crozer  Sunday-scuool  Library 
Frxi). 

^^  Resolved  J  That  in  this  large  addition  to  our  means 
of  usefulness,  bestowed  thus  unexpectedly  by  one  Avliose 
bounty  we  have  so  often  shared,  we  recoirnizc  anew 
the  kindness  of  our  htavciily  Father.  And  while  we 
tender  our  heartfelt  2:ratitu<le  to  one  whose  Christian 


LIFE  OF  JOIIX  P.  CROZER. 


195 


benevolence  is  interwoven  with  the  history  of  this 
Society,  we  also  rejoice  with  him  in  that  he  is  thus 
permitted  to  cast  on  another  generation  the  mantle 
of  his  own  noble  charity." 

A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  confer  with 
]\rr.  Crozer,  and  recommend  to  the  Board  the  best 
investment  for  this  fund. 

After  a  short  absence  the  committee  reported,  re- 
commending the  purchase  of  ten  thousand  dollars  in 
the  new  six  per  cent,  loan  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
The  recommendation  was  unanimously  ado^^ted,  and 
the  securities  named  were  j)laced  the  next  day  in  the 
hands  of  the  treasurer. 

The  influence  of  this  donation  upon  the  well-being 
of  the  present  and  coming  generations  cannot  be 
over-estimated.  As  we  look  forward  into  the  future, 
and  follow  the  working  of  the  libraries  furnished 
from  year  to  year  by  tlie  interest  of  this  fund,  we  see 
feeble  schools  revived  and  strengthened;  new  schools 
established,  many  of  them  growing  into  vigorous 
churches ;  multitudes  of  children  and  youth  con- 
verted to  Christ,  entering  and  enlarging  every  depart- 
ment of  work  in  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  Number- 
less and  ever-multi})lying  springs  of  blessing  will  be 
opened,  whose  waters  will  deepen  and  widen  and  flow 
on  for  ever,  making  glad  the  hearts  of  multitudes. 
In  the  acceptance  of  this  large  donation  the  Board 


196 


LIFE  OF  JO  IIS  F.  CM  O  ZEE. 


very  properly  expressed  its  gratitude.  It  had  come 
to  them  unexpectedly  and  without  their  solicitation. 
As  was  natural  and  right,  it  was  received  with  com- 
mendation. Some  words  of  honest  and  manly  })raise 
were  spoken  by  several  members  of  the  Board.  In 
relation  to  this,  he  wrote  that  night  in  his  diary :  "It 
suffused  mv  cheeks  with  color,  and  caused  rather 
painful  emotion.  I  feel  that  I  have  placed  this 
money  where  good  may  result :  may  the  blessing  of 
God  attend  it !" 

AVhen,  in  answer  to  his  fervent  prayers,  one  child 
after  another  was  converted  and  made  a  ])ublic  pro- 
fession of  religion,  the  heart  of  Mr.  Crozer  over- 
flowed with  gratitude  to  God.  On  the  occasion  of 
George's  baj)tism  the  following  entry  was  made  :  "Oh, 
how  blessed  are  we !  I  do  feel  it  in  my  old  age,  and 
I  want  to  feel  it  more  and  more.  Two  children,  I 
humbly  trust,  in  heaven ;  five  on  earth  who  profess 
their  love  in  Christ ;  two  yet  who  are  thoughtful  and 
serious,  and  I  trust  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of 
heaven." 

AMiile  ^Ir.  Crozer  was  thus  actively  engaged  in 
works  of  mercy  and  of  Christian  charity,  seeking  to 
tlo  good  to  the  bodies  and  the  souls  of  his  fellow- 
men,  he  did  not  overlo<^k  the  wants  of  his  own 
s|)iritual  nature.  lie  savs  :  "  It  is  certainly  not  well 
that  the  world  and  its  concerns  should   in  the  least 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  I\  CROZER. 


19" 


interfere  with  my  spiritual  interests.  My  growth  in 
grace  is  slo\v,  verv  slow.  How  sliall  I  remedv  this? 
How  shall  I  lead  a  more  devoted  life — a  life  of  trust 
and  joy  and  peace?  How  desirable  Avhile  in  the 
w^orld  to  live  above  it ;  to  have  my  conversation  in 
heaven,  and  be  clieerfully  ready  to  resign  my  mortal 
life  !"  And  again  he  says  :  "  My  earnest,  my  greatest 
desire  is  to  obtain  a  more  livelv  faith  in  Christ.  The 
world  to  one  of  my  age  can  hold  out  but  few  induce- 
ments. If  my  faith  were  strong,  I  think  I  could  let 
go  my  hold  on  life  without  nuich  regret,  and  leap  into 
etcrnitv.  I  have  nothino;  to  desire  for  myself  in  this 
life  but  to  be  useful  to  my  fellow-creatures ;  and  it 
])ains  me  much  when  I  think  how  little  I  have  done 
for  my  Lord  and  Master.  O  Lord,  wilt  thou  not 
strengthen  my  faith  and  confidence  in  thee?  I  have 
no  hope  but  in  a  precious  Saviour,  and  I  want  no 
other. 

"A  fjinful, weak, and  lieli)lcss  worm, 
On  tliv  kind  arm  T  fall : 

Be  thou  my  strength  and  righte(iu?ness, 
Mv  Saviour  and  mv  aJl." 


On  a  birthday  he  writes :  "  I  earnestly  desire  to 
live  with  staff  in  hand,  and  vet  to  work  ^yith  greatly 
increased  fervor  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  for  the 
good  of  mankind.     The  night  of  death  draweth  near. 


198 


LIFE  OF  JO  UN  P.  CROZER. 


Oh  that  I  may  be  found  prepared  for  the  awful 
summons— awful  to  the  Christian,  but  oh,  how 
dreadfully  so  to  those  out  of  Christ!  O  Lord,  be 
thou  my  rock  and  mv  salvation,  mv  stronohold, 
whereunto  I  may  continually  resort.  I  have  no  other 
hope,  no  other  trust." 

As   years   passed   on,   ]\fr.   Crozer   was   frequently 
saddened  by  the  removal  of  those  with  whom  he  had 
long  been  associated  in  works  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence.    On  the  19th  of  October,  1863,  he  writes :  "  I 
have  been  at  the  funeral  of  my  dear  ajred   friend 
James  M.  Linnard,  who  died  in   his  eiditieth   vear. 
Few  men  of  my  acquaintance  were  so  useful ;  none, 
more  devotedly  pious  and  sincere.     He  was  an  active 
Christian  until  within  about  a  year;  since  then  weak- 
ness and   bodily  infirmities   have  for  the  most  part 
kept  him  in  retirement.     He  had  long  been  the  main 
support  and  stay  of  the  Pennsylvania  Baptist  Con- 
vention for  Missionary  Purposes,  and  his  loss  will  be 
mourned  over  and  severely  felt   bv  that  bodv.*     I 
think  he  may  in  truth  be  set  down  as  the  head  of  the 
Baptist  laymen  of  Pennsylvania.     I  feel  his  depart- 
ure.    I  know  no  one  of  my  aged  friends  in  whom   I 
had  such  confidence." 

*  ^Ir.  Crozer's  eldest  son  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  tlie 
Convention  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Linnard,  and  this  position  he  con- 
tinues to  fill. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


199 


It  has  been  to  some  a  matter  of  surprise  that  Mr. 
Crozer,  while  pressed  with  cares  attendant  on  the 
profitable  management  of  an  extensive  business  and  a 
large  estate,  could  find  time  for  the  liberal  course  of 
reading  which  he  i)ursued,  and  for  the  seasons  of 
devotion  which  he  habitually  enjoyed.  A  single  fact 
may  suffice  to  explain  the  means  by  which  these  ends 
were  accomplished.  One  morning,  as  the  winter 
frosts  were  coming  on,  he  made  this  record  in  his 
diary:  "The  moon  and  stars  have  been  shinino; 
brightly,  but  are  now  gradually  fliding  at  the  ap- 
proach of  the  sun.  It  is  a  beautiful  winter  mornin<r. 
How  much  is  lost  by  lying  in  bed !  I  have  always 
been  rather  an  early  riser,  though  not  so  early  this 
autumn  as  usual.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  the 
brilliant  lamps  of  night  gradually  dimmed  before  the 
more  brilliant  lamp  of  day.  And  then  to  think  of 
that  wonderfid  Power  which  created  the  sim  to  rule 
the  day — the  moon  and  the  stars,  the  night!  Oh, 
how  insignificant  I  appear,  together  with  all  around 
me,  in  contrast  w^ith  the  Creator  of  the  vast  universe  I 


a  I 


Ph»nets  and  suns  and  adamantine  spheres 
Wheeling  unshaken  in  the  void  immense.' 


And  shall  I  soon  be  permitted  to  see  face  to  face  that 
wonder-working  God?  Well  mav  I  shrink  back  at 
the  thought!  well    may  T  be   impressed  with   dread 


200 


LIFE  OF  JOHy  p.  CROZER. 


while  I  contemplate  my  smfiilne?^ !  O  tliou  great 
One,  purify  this  heart  by  the  inspiration  of  tlie  Holy 
Spirit !" 

It  was  durinu:  these  early  honrs  that  he  had  gained 
mneh  of  that  acqnaintanee  with  books  which  he  had 
acquired,  and  especially  with  the  best  of  books  which 
was  his  delight.  For  in  one  of  his  morning  entries 
in  his  diary  he  savs :  "  I  love  the  S<_Tii)lures  of 
inspiration,  I  think,  with  an  increasing  love.  I  love 
to  read  this  blessed  Book  of  books. '^  And  again,  a 
few  years  later :  "  I  think  I  have  an  increasing  love 
for  the  Bible.  And  I  love  a  little,  I  hope,  to  think 
of  the  Saviour  Jesus,  especially  in  connection  with 
his  wonderful  sacrifice." 

It  was  from  these  sonsnns  of  earlv  secret  com- 
munion  with  God  his  Saviour  that  he  came  out  to 
greet  his  household,  and  to  lead,  with  glowing  and 
grateful  heart,  in  those  family  devotions  whose  influ- 
ence was  so  marked,  shedding  around  his  dwelling 
the  sacredness  ami  peace  befitting  a  Christian  home. 

Reference  has  alreadv  Ijcen  made  to  his  liberality 
in  erecting  and  enlarging  the  house  of  worship  at 
Upland,  and  to  his  care  for  the  comfijrt  of  the  pastors 
who  walchcfl  over  the  church  that  m;is  gntliered.  Yet 
this  was  the  smallest  part  of  the  service  which  he 
rendered  to  the  church.  lie  regarded  the  contribu- 
tion  of  money  as  im])ortaiit ;  yet  looked  uj)on  this  as 


I 


LIFE  OF  JO  US  P.  CROZER. 


201 


one   of  the   inferior   kinds  of  service — "the   lowest 
grade  of  usefulness  in  a  Christian  church." 

Though  in  the  providence  of  God  he  was  the 
instrument  of  rearing  the  house  of  worship  and  in 
the  organization  of  the  church,  yet  from  the  date  of 
its  constitution,  he  was  simply  one  of  the  members, 
one  of  the  humblest  of  them  all. 

In  the  meetings  of  the  church  he  was  promj)t, 
punctual,  ready  for  every  good  word  and  work.  In 
its  meetings  fijr  prayer  he  took  a  special  delight,  and 
was  seldom  absent.  He  had  a  very  humble  estimate 
of  his  ability  as  a  leader  in  religious  services.  But 
his  devotional  spirit  especially  fitted  him  to  lead  the 
devotions  of  the  church;  and  his  words  of  earnest 
exhortation  were  always  heard  with  interest,  and 
often  came  with  peculiar  power  to  tlie  hearts  of  those 
whom  he  addressed. 

On  the  constitution  of  the  cliurch  he  was  chosen 
and  ordained  one  of  its  deacons.  His  gardener,  Mr. 
John  Pretty,  was  chosen  as  his  fellow-deacon,  and 
ordained  at  the  same  time.  They  labored  together  in 
great  harmony  until  the  end  of  Mr.  Crozer's  work, 
mutually  zealous  for  the  welfare  of  the  church,  and 
each  striving  to  use  the  office  of  a  deacon  well. 

From  the  record  of  18GI  these  extracts  are  made. 
Speaking  of  his  mother,  he  says :  "  Oh,  the  dear 
sainted  woman  !     I  could   now  bound  into  her  arms. 


202 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  VllOZER. 


Mv  own  loved  wife  lias  my  intensely  warm  affections, 
but  when  I  think  of  mv  mother,  I  feel  tliat  she 
should  sliare  with  mv  wife  tlie  warmest  affections  of 
mv  heart.  She  was  bv  nature  kind  to  all  and  devoted 
to  her  children.  Her  sphere  in  life  was  narrow,  and 
she  was  not  formed  for  a  leader  in  society.  She  was 
a  woman  of  good  intellect,  but  not  disposed  to  step 
from  the  sphere  where  Providence  liad  placcnl  lier. 
Her  meek  and  quiet  life  passed  away  iii  attention  to 
domestic  duties — often  confined  to  her  clKunber  by 
sickness — and  in  devotion  to  lier  children.  She  was 
earnestlv  desirous  to  train  them  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord;  and  God  in  nuich  mercy  has,  I  trust,  rewarded 
her  eiibrt.  The  seeds  of  truth  which  she  scattered 
were  not  lost  in  the  minds  of  her  children.  Her 
meek  example,  her  watchfulness  ai^ainst  evil  company 
and  vice,  her  rejj^ard  for  the  I^ord's  Dav  in  a  neiii'h- 
borhood  where  its  sanctity  was  scarcely  recogniyxnl, 
her  teachings  from  the  Scrij)tures,  and  many  smaller 
acts  and  efforts,  all  tended  to  the  same  end — the  con- 
version of  her  children  t(^  Christ." 

"Upon  a  revi(nv  of  the  past,  I  think  I  feel  disposed 
heartily  to  recognize  the  goodness  of  God  in  my  case, 
notwithstanding  mv  disobedience  and  hardness  of 
heart.  My  youth,  though  passed  in  a  somewhat 
obscure  rural  district,  was  not  without  temptation,  as 
is  the  case  in  everv  neighborhood.     And  I  recollect 


I 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZKR. 


203 


many  instances — some,  the  thought  of  which  makes 
me  shrink  with  horror — in  which  mv  moral  character 
might  have  been  ruined,  and  disgrace  have  been 
brought  upon  myself  and  others.  Yet  I  was  merci- 
fully preserved,  not  merely  from  exposure,  but  also 
from  all  acts  that  might  fear  exposure.  Yet,  alas, 
how  thankless! 

" '  Wlien  tlirougli  the  slippery  paths  of  youth 
^Vith  lieedless  steps  I  ran, 
Thine  arm  unseen  convevcd  me  safe. 
And  led  me  up  to  man.' 

I  feel  this  day  the  goodness  of  God,  and  trust  with 
some  humilitv  of  soul.'' 

After  recounting  the  mercies  and  blessings  with 
which  God  had  followed  him  all  the  davs  of  his  life, 
and  praying  for  increased  usefulness ;  he  concludes 
his  record  in  these  words:  '^O  my  Lord  and  mv  God, 
for  Jesus'  sake,  my  only  hope,  make  me  love  thee 
with  increasing  desire  and  intensity  of  soul,  until  I 
can  say,  with  sincerity  of  heart,  ^  Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  ))ut  thee?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I 
desire  besides  thee!'  Such,  I  believe,  is  the  desire  of 
my  heart  to-day,  and  I  venture  to  subscribe  it.  And 
oh,  may  it  be  my  habitual  feeling! 


^.^^     ^  <iJ:i^'^>^.^>^ 


204 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


The  Inability  of  pastors  of  small  cluirclies  to  pur- 
chase needeil  tlieological  books  was  a  subjoct  that 
engaged  the  attention  of  ]\Ir.  Crozer;  and  in  order  to 
remedy  it  in  some  degree,  he  set  an  example  worthy 
tlie  imitation  of  those  who  survive  him.  From  the 
records  of  the  Publication  Society  the  following  in- 
teresting communication  is  taken: 

"Upland,  February  28,  1865. 
"  To  the  Board  of  Manar/erH  of  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society : 
"Dear  Brethren: — I  have  felt  much  concern  of 
late  in  reflecting  upon  the  severe  privation  and  sacri- 
fices of  many  of  the  pastors  of  our  small  churches. 
Those  especially  of  new  organizations  are  subject  to 
not  a  few  of  these,  having  exhausted  all  their  pecu- 
niary resources  to  secure  an  education,  and  have  often 
to  enter  upon  pastoral  duties,  with  a  very  limited 
salary  as  a  means  of  support,  without  the  ability  to 
secure  even  a  scanty  library.  With  a  view  to  render 
some  small  aid  to  such  in  obtaining  useful  books,  I 
propose  to  donate,  in  trnst,  to  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society,  in  perpetuity,  the  sum  of 

FIVE   THOUSAND    DOLLARS, 

subject  to  the  following  conditions  and  reservations, 
viz.:  The  sum  of  five  thousan<l  dollars  is  to  be  in- 
vested and   kept   in  United  States  or  in  Pennsylvania 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  r.  CROZER. 


205 


State  Government  loans,  or  in  the  funded  debt  of  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  or  in  bond  and  first  mortgage 
well  secured  on  real  estate  in  said  city,  as  may  be 
decided  upon  and  approved  by  any  existing  Board 
of  Manao-ers,  at  anv  stated  meeting  of  said  Board; 
such  approval,  however,  must  have  the  sanction  of 
two-thirds  of  the  members  of  the  Board.  The  yeas 
of  those  voting  in  the  affirmative  must  l)e  so  recorded 
on  the  minutes.  Negative  votes  may  be  also  recorded 
if  required  by  the  Board,  or  if  asked  by  the  member 
or  members  voting  in  the  negative. 

"Should  the  xVmerican  Baptist  Publication  Society 
at  any  future  time,  by  any  regular  and  legitimate  pro- 
ceeding or  action,  change  its  name  or  title,  or  become 
united  with  or  merged  into  any  kindred  society  of  the 
Baptist  denomination  engaged  in  a  similar  work,  then 
this  donation  may  be  placed  under  the  direction  and 
subject  to  the  control  of  such  new  arrangement;  but 
the  purposes  of  the  donor,  as  herein  set  forth,  are  to 
be  strictly  regarded ;  and  neither  the  principal  sum, 
nor  the  income  or  revenue  derived  therefrom,  is  to  be 
directed  or  suffered  to  flow  into  any  new  channel,  or 
for  other  objects  than  those  herein  specified. 

"The  income  or  revenue,  which  shall  accrue  from 
the  investment  of  this  principal  of  five  thousand  dol- 
lars, is  to  form  and  become  a  fund  for  the  supply,  by 
gift,  of  books  published  or  sold  by  the  American 

18 


206 


LIFE   OF  JOIIX  P.  CEOZER, 


Baptist  Pubtjcation  Soctety,  to  i)a8tors  of  BaptiM 
churches  in  tlie  United  States,  of  .such  cliaracter  wvA 
tlescription  as  is  ah'cady  referred  to  in  the  fore<»:oinjr, 
and  as  is  hereinafter  specified;  no  pastor,  however,  to 
have  the  benefit  thereof  to  a  greater  amount  than 
fifteen  (h)Hars;  and  inchided  in  the  donation,  the 
works  of  Rev.  Andrew  Fuller  are  recommended, 
though  not  insisted  upon,  as  having  a  place. 

"In  a  former  donation  for  the  benefit  of  Sundav- 
schools,  reference  was  made  to  a  conviction  that  gifts 
and  benefactions  were  most  valued  and  jrenerallv 
most  effective  when  not  obtained  without  some  cost 
a:.d  effort;  and  a  recommendation  was  then  made  to 
the  Jioard  to  require,  as  a  general  rule,  that  ai>plicants 
for  aid  should  purchase  from  our  depository  an 
amount  of  books  equal  in  value  to  the  amount  do- 
nated. More  freciuent  variation  from  this  rule  mav  bo 
proper  and  necessarv  in  the  distribution  for  ministers'' 
libraries  than  for  Sundav-schools,  vet  the  same  recom- 
mendation  is  now  given,  leaving,  ho;^vever,  a  free  dis- 
cretionary power  with  the  Board. 

*'The  benefits  of  this  donation  are  intended  for  all 
pastors  of  Baptist  churches  in  the  United  States,  re- 
cognized ns  such  /)>/  the  Ihxinl  of  the  Aincrimn  Iktptist 
Publication  Societu.  without  retrard  to  color.  As  manv 
applicants  may  be  living  in  remote  places,  and  un- 
kn-^wa   t0  any  member  of   the   Board,   it   nuist    be 


IJFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CEOZER. 


207 


I 


required  as  an  indispensable  condition  that  satisfactory 
reference  be  given,  and  replies  made  in  such  form  as 
the  Board  may  deem  proper. 

"The  terms  and  conditions  of  this  donation  are  to 
be  confirmed  bv  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  membei^ 
present,  and  to  be  entered  in  full  upon  the  minutes 
of  the  Board ;  and  the  officers  to  be  empowered, 
as  soon  as  the  money  is  paid  into  the  treasury,  to 
furnish  the  donor  with  a  certified  copy  of  the  whole 
proceeding. 

"Yours,  with  a  fraternal  respect, 

"John  P.  Crozer." 

ACTION  OF  THE  BOARD  OX  THE  RECEPTION  OF  THIS 

DONATION. 

The  following  resolution,  on  motion  of  J.  Wheaton 
Smith,  was  unanimously  adopted: 

"  Resolved,  That  we  accept  this  liberal  offer  of  our 
brother,  John  P.  Crozer,  with  its  accomj)anying  con- 
ditions ;  that  we  rejoice  with  him  in  the  prospect 
thus  opened  of  new  usefulness  in  a  most  interesting 
field ;  and  that  wd'  place  on  record  our  heartfelt  grati- 
tude to  God,  by  whose  continued  favor  we  have  this 
new  proof  of  unsolicitcHl  Christian  generosity." 

The  amount  was  placed  immediately  in  the  hands 
of  the  treasurer,  and  invested,  by  the  order  of  the 
Board,  in  the  seven-thirtv  Government  notes. 


i 


208 


LIFE  OF  JOny  p.  CROZER. 


Mr.  Crozer^^  aversion  to  disputes  and  contentions 
has  been  referred  to  already  in  this  narrative.  He 
was  naturally  a  peacemaker;  and  this  trait  of  his 
character  led  him  to  pursue  a  conciliatory  course  in 
his  policy.  He  loved  all  Christians  of  whatever 
name,  and  delighted  to  unite  in  work  and  worship 
with  religious  organizations  composed  of  the  various 
evangelical  denominations.  While  this  continued  to 
be  his  feeling  to  the  end  of  his  life,  he  vet  feared  that 
it  had  sometimes  led  him  too  far ;  and  inclined  him, 
by  too  strong  a  love  of  harmony  and  union,  to  the 
supj)ression  of  his  individual  convictions  of  truth. 
After  long  yeai^  of  experience  ar.d  observation,  he 
made  this  record  in  his  diary:  "The  pursuance  of  a 
middle  or  conciliatory  course  sometimes  leads  to  a 
compromise  of  right,  and  gains  neither  the  friend- 
ship nor  respect  of  either  side.  A  more  fearless  main- 
tenance of  what  I  believe  to  be  rioht  in  relio-ion,  as 
well  as  in  secular  affairs,  would,  I  think,  have  made 
me  more  respected,  and  far  more  useful  than  1  have 
been." 

In  February  of  the  previous  year  (18G4)  the  atten- 
tion of  Mr.  Crozer  had  been  again  directed  to  the 
University  at  Lewisburg.  The  question  of  its  per- 
manent location  at  T.cwisburo;  Imd  been  definitelv 
settled,  and  settled  adversely  to  his  wishes.  On  this 
subject  his  opinions  had  experienced  no  change.     But 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


l09 


he  was  still,  as  he  had  always  been,  deeply  interested 
in  its  Avelfare.  It  had  ample  grounds  and  commo- 
dious buildings,  but  its  funds  were  insufficient  to  meet 
its  necessary  ex])enses.  Its  debts  were  steadily  in- 
creasing, and  nothing  but  a  more  ample  endowment 
could  ensure  its  continuance.  In  this  condition  of 
affairs,  Mr.  Crozer  offered,  through  Dr.  J.  R.  Loomis, 
the  able  president  of  the  university,  to  subscribe  the 
sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  on  condition  that  the 
larger  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  inclusive 
of  his  own  subscription,  should  be  obtained  witliin  a 
specified  time.  The  offer  was  liberally  responded  to, 
and  at  the  annual  commencement  of  the  univcrsitv, 
in  July,  1805,  the  amount  was  reported  as  subscribed. 
In  recording  the  facts  in  his  diary,  Mr.  Crozer  says: 
'^  I  am  now  readv  to  i)av  over  the  twentv  thousand 
dollars.  I  am  satisfied  that  I  have  saved  the  institu- 
tion; and  I  think  I  mav  claim  to  have  done  it,  for 
it  was  on  the  brink  of  ruin.  Others,  however, 
might  have  done  what  I  did,  yet  none  seemed  likely 
to  do  it." 

He  concludes  the  record  of  this  year  (1865)  with 
these  words:  "In  entering  upon  a  new  vear,  mv 
seventy-third,  I  cannot  but  be  serious.  Shall  this 
3ear  be  mv  last?  Omniscience  can  onlv  solve  the 
question.  I  would  not,  if  I  could,  j)ry  into  the 
things  which  are  f  )rbidden  me  to  know.     O  mv  Lord 


IS  - 


0 


210 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


and  Master!  teach  me  how  to  live;  so  teach  me  to 
number  my  days  that  I  may  apply  my  heart  unto 
wisdom;  teach  me  how  to  prepare  for  the  summons 
which  may  come  this  year — which  must  come  ere  long. 
I  wish  to  he  ferventlv  thankful  to  mv  God  for  a  con- 
tinuance  of  health  and  comfort.  These  I  have  enjoyed 
in  an  eminent  de^i^ree  throu2:h  a  Ion":  lil'e.'^ 

As  we  have  seen,  the  work  of  the  Christian  Com- 
mission had  enjraijed  much  of  ^Ir.  Crozer's  interest 
from  its  first  organization  in  1801.  He  had  given 
time,  sympathy,  and  large  material  aid  to  the  noble 
work.  But  the  war  had  at  length  come  to  an  end. 
The  benevolent  work  of  the  Commission,  of  course, 
could  not  cease  with  the  suspension  of  hostilities. 
For  some  months  afterward  there  were  still  calls 
upon  its  resources — calls  which  the  liberality  of  its 
friends  enabled  it  to  meet.  But  at  length  the  time 
came  when  the  work  which  had  been  so  faithfully 
prosecuted  was  to  end,  and  the  laborers  in  the  Com- 
mission were  to  bid  each  other,  in  their  official  ca- 
pacity, larewell.  On  the  11th  of  January,  1866,  Mr. 
Crozer  makes  this  record  of  his  last  meetinfi:  with 
them:  '^The  Christian  Commission  met.  It  was  the 
liist  meeting  here.  The  Board  was  nearly  full.  I 
could  not  stay  until  the  close;  but  at  half-past  two  P. 
M.  I  took  each  member  bv  the  liand  and  bade  him  a 
cordial  farewell.     1  felt  verv  solemn  when  T  thoufrht 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


211 


tliat  we  were  to  meet,  as  the  Christian  Commission 
Board,  no  more." 

We  now  come  to  his  last  birthday,  January  13, 
1866,  and  to  the  last  record  he  made  in  his  diary: 
"My  gifts  of  benevolence  have,  I  think,  exceeded 
those  of  any  preceding  year;  and  in  commencing  a 
new  year  it  is  my  desire — and  I  pray  God  to  give  me 
grace  to  carry  out  that  desire  to  fulfillment — to  do 
greatly  more  than  in  any  past  year  of  my  life.  Eter- 
nity seems  near,  and  I  tcish  it  to  be  so.  I  would  to 
God  that  I  could  live  with  my  staff  in  mv  hand. 
Few  men  have  been  more  richlv  blessed  in  eveiv 
earthly  good  —  a  vigorous  constitution,  an  active 
mind,  with  industry,  perseverance,  and  a  good  busi- 
ness judgment.  Providence  placed  me  in  such  a 
position  in  life  as  brought  these  qualities  of  body  and 
mind  into  active  play.  My  wife,  too,  affectionate  and 
desiring  to  make  me  hapj)y;  children  generally  kind 
and  considerate,  indeed,  almost  invariably  so;  and 
surrounded  bv  much  to  make  life  desirable.  These 
blessings  have  followed  me  through  a  long  life,  and 
while  it  is  natural  that  thev  should  bind  me  to  life,  I 
feel  that  I  ought  to  be  cheerfully  willing,  after  enjoy- 
ing them  so  long,  to  surrender  them  all  at  the  Mas- 
ter's call.  O  Lord,  give  me  the  disposition  to  be 
daily,  hourly  willing  to  die!  And  oh!  may  my  faith 
be   firm,  that   when   I   am   called  hence,  no  doubt  or 


LIFE  OF  J  (JUS  1\  CnOZER. 


fear  i^luill  bo  suffered  to  flit  across  my  niiiul.  I  want 
to  (lie  in  stroug  faitli.  it  has  never  been  my  privilege 
to  possess  that  strong  and  unwavering  faitli  wliieli  is 
given  to  some.  O  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  pity  and 
strengthen  an  old  man,  so  soon  to  put  off  this  mortal 
life,  and  to  launch  into  the  eternal  world  I  ^l\  time 
is  in  thv  hand.  O  God,  make  me  all  thou  wouldst 
have  me  to  be!  I  here  close;  and  beginning  the 
j&eveiily-fourth  year  of  mv  life,  I  desire  to  do  it  in  the 
fear  of  God  and  under  a  deep  sense  of  my  dependence. 
li  maif  be — nnd  it  is  by  7W  means  unlikely — that  1  am 
now  penning  the  lad  anniversary  record ;  if  so,  the  will 
of  the  Lord  be  done  !     Amen  f* 

The  reader  Mill  have  noticed  that,  in  his  birthday 
reflections,  Mr.  Grozer  had  often  contemj)lated  death, 
and  looked  upon  its  possil)le  approach  with  compo- 
sure; but  often  as  he  had  touche<l  this  tlieme  before,  he 
liad  never  written  as  now.  He  now  manifests  a  more 
willing  submission  to  that  inevitable  event  whii*h 
awaits  us  all — a  cheerful  and  hearty  acquiescence  in  its 
approach.  This  is  tlmt  final  riiHMiing  which  heaven 
in  mercv  jjives  t<>  those  whose  cimI  is  r.car.  In  the 
spirit  of  these  closing  sentences  we  behold  the  sunset 
beauty  of  a  day  fast  fading  into  night — the  autumn 
glory  of  a  well-sjKMit  lile. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


LIFE    AT   ITS   CLOSE. 


MR.  CROZER  entered  itpon  the  duties  of  the  open- 
ing year  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  usual  health, 
and  ill  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers.  It  is  promised 
to  "those  that  be  planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord," 
that  "they  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age." 
This  promise  was  happily  fulfilled ;  and  we  find  him 
in  the  seventv-fotirth  vear  of  his  life  with  faculties 
unimpaired  by  age,  and  with  larger  conceptions  of 
usefulness  than  perhaps  ever  before. 

It  is  related  bv  Allan  Cunnino-ham  of  the  dis- 
tinguished  painter  whose  name  is  associated  with 
Mr.  Crozer's  in  the  circumstances  of  his  birth,  that 
as  old  age  benumbed  liis  faculties  and  began  to  freeze 
up  the  wellspring  of  original  thought,  the  daring 
intrepidity  of  the  man  seemed  to  grow  and  augment. 
Immense  pictures,  embracing  topics  which  Avould  have 
alarmed  a  less  lofty  spirit,  came  crowding  thick  upon 
his  fancy.  There  is  something  so  brave  in  these 
colossal  efforts  of  an  old  man's  genius  as  makes  us 
lenient  to   their   faults,   and   tempts    us   strongly   to 

213 


. 


1 


4 

4 


214 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  F.  CIWZKR. 


forget  that,  beneath  the  grandeur  of  his  conception, 
the  ^V}]]  of  his  arrangement,  and  the  sjdendor  of  his 
cok^'ing,  there  is  a  lack  of  true  vitality — that  he 
wanted  warmth  and  imagination  to  be  the  restorer  of 
a  stvle  which  bewildered  Barrv  and  lived  in  the 
dreams  of  Kevnolds. 

In  the  not  less  noble  sphere  in  which  the  subject  of 
this  memoir  moved,  we  find  him  steadily  advancing: 
as  he  grew  older,  he  grew  grander,  escaping  in  a 
remarkable  degree  the  frailties  incident  to  age.  His 
whole  life  was  a  gnnvth;  and  it  may  be  said  of  him 
with  truth,  that  he  did  not  cease  to  grow  until  he 
began  to  die.  So  true  is  this,  that  now,  in  the  ma- 
turity of  his  age,  his  aftluenct^,  and  his  usefulness,  we 
find  (mr  most  fitting  opportunity  for  an  estimate  of 
his  character. 

Mr.  Crozer  was  not  so  largelv  endowed  bv  nature 
as  at  first  might  be  supposed.  A  sound  ])ody,  a 
sound  and  well-balanced  mind,  with  a  certain  moral 
sensitiveness  in  a  somewhat  unusual  measure,  seem  to 
have  made  up  the  sum  of  his  natural  endowments. 

His  early  advantages,  as  we  have  seen,  were  limited. 
He  was  born  in  a  retired  country  neighborhood,  with 
its  necessarv  lack  of  social  advantaires  and  culture. 
His  school  education  was  scanty.  His  teachers  were 
incom})etent,  and  often  ignorant ;  and  his  studies 
ceased  in  his  thirteenth  vear — soon  af\cr  they  were 


I 


I 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER, 


215 


fairly  begun — except  as  they  were  pursued  in  winter 
and  accompanied  with  work. 

The  length  of  his  life  upon  the  farm  was  also 
against  him.  Had  it  ceased  when  his  muscular 
strength  was  developed  and  his  frame  settled  and 
compacted,  it  might  have  proved  advantageous;  but 
remaining  at  hard  labor  to  the  twenty-eighth  year  of 
his  age  was  unfavorable  to  the  l)est  development  of 
his  powers.  AVhatever  may  be  said,  either  in  prose 
or  poetry,  of  the  pursuits  of  farming  as  they  are 
practised  now,  in  those  days  they  furnished  little 
incitement  to  mental  activity.  Eating,  drinking,  and 
sleeping  were  almost  the  only  relaxations  they  afforded 
from  incessant  toil,  and  their  tendencv  was  to  reduce 
any  ordinary  man  to  the  lowest  point  of  intelligent 
existence. 

But  he  struo-o-led  bravelv  to  surmount  these  ob- 
stacles,  resortino:  to  read  ins;  and  studv  to  make  amends 
for  his  meagre  opportunities  at  school.  We  have  seen 
him,  at  twentv-one,  sitting*  down  bv  himself  to  the 
mastery  of  English  grammar — grammar  being  one 
of  the  higher  branches,  not  comprised  in  the  regular 
course  at  the  ^'little  stone  school-house."  AVe  have 
found  him  at  the  plough  with  an  English  classic  in 
his  pocket,  and  began  to  believe  '^  there  was  some- 
thins;  in  him."  We  followed  him  on  his  horseback 
iournev  of  nearlv  three  thousand  miles;  and  watched 


216 


Z/F/i"  OF  JOJiy  p.  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  rPOZER. 


217 


him  on  his  return,  as  he  chose  a  new  occupation,  and 
entered  upon  the  trials  and  dan<!;ers  of  a  business 
career.  We  looked  on  with  solicitu<le  when  his  success 
was  doubtful;  and  marked  Ids  perseverance,  his  indus- 
tiy;andhis  integrity.  AVe  have  seen  him  when  past 
middle  age  in  reverses  which  nearly  stri})ped  him  of 
the  competence  he  had  gained  by  a  life  of  toil,  and 
noted  how  coura«ji:eouslv  he  bore  them.  Since  then, 
as  we  have  followed  the  story  of  his  life,  we  have 
become  conversant  with  his  hopes,  his  fears,  his  pur- 
poses; and  watched  with  delight  the  gradual  unft)ld- 
injr  of  his  character. 

Let  us  now  consider  him  as  he  is  in  the  last 
development  of  his  maidiness;  and  before  we  bid  him 
good-bye  for  ev^er — and  yet,  not  "for  ever'' — catth 
the  latest  inspiration  of  his  life. 

AVe  find  him  in  the  possession  of  an  ample  fortune. 
This  of  itself  is  fair  proof  of  his  ability.  A  fortur.e 
is  not  often  the  fruit  of  folly,  i^css  frequently  than 
some  suppose,  is  wealth  a  pleasant  blunder, into  which 
the  possessor  has  somehow  fallen.  In  his  case  it  is 
certainly  a  reward  of  merit.  He  is  regarded  by  all 
who  knew  him  a-  a  .-agaeious,  far-sighted,  and 
thorouirh  business  man.  Not  onlv  is  he  well  informed 
in  matters  <if  busini'.-s,  but  we  find  liiin  a  man  of 
general  intelligence,  acquainted  uncommonly  well  with 
all  that  is  transpiring  in  the  world  around   him.      In 


conversing  with  him,  he  is  modest  and  unassuming, 
but  you  are  impressed  v/ith  the  clearness  of  his 
sentences  and  the  weight  of  his  opinions. 

In  his  tastes  he  is  cultivated  and  refined.  He  is 
living  in  a  spacious  mansion,  in  the  midst  of  ample 
grounds,  adorned  with  flowers  and  foliage.  His 
dress  and  manners  are  those  of  a  gentleman.  He 
keeps  his  carriages  and  horses  and  servants;  and 
lives  in  a  style  befitting  his  ample  nrjans,  avoiding 
all  parsimony  on  the  one  hand,  and  ostentatious  dis- 
play on  the  other.  He  dispenses  a  cheerful  and 
generous  hospitality,  and  friends  in  almost  any  num- 
ber are  always  welcome  at  his  board.  He  is  quick  to 
reciprocate  the  courtesies  of  social  life,  and  i^rompt  in 
the  exchange  of  all  civilities  which  a  true  politeness 
may  require.  If  you  enter  his  dwelling,  you  are 
struck  with  an  air  of  comfort  and  good  taste,  Avhich 
seems  to  bid  you  feel  at  home.  In  his  relations  to 
his  family  there  is  a  certain  dignified  tenderness  in 
Ids  manner,  which  is  quite  remarkable.  No  attention 
to  their  wants  or  wishes  is  intentionally  withheld. 
His  wife  he  "delights  to  honor,"  and  his  children  he 
"loves  to  cherish." 

He  is  still  a  lover  of  books ;  of  the  Bible  he  is  a 
diligent  student;  he  uses  such  practical  authors  as 
Baxter  and  Bunyan,  as  Harris  and  James,  and  reads, 
for  the  >ake  of  their  example,  the  lives  of  Howard 


19 


218 


LIFE   OF  JOBS  P.  CROZER. 


and  Wilberforoe.  He  is  foiul  of  the  writings  of 
Kobert  Hall  and  of  Andrew  Fnller,  and  pores  over 
the  pages  of  Paley,  of  Home's  Introduction,  and  of 
Butler^s  Analogy.  We  find  him  familiar  with  Gib- 
bon and  Hume,  with  Johnson  and  Goldsmith,  with 
Prescott  and  ^lacaulav.  He  still  reads  p]n<i^lish 
poetry — ^lilton  and  8hakspeare  are  his  favorites; 
and,  at  j)ast  his  '*  threescore  yciirs  and  ten,"  we  find 
him  reviewing  with  delight  the  scenes  of  Richard  the 
Third  and  Henrv  the  Eiy-hth. 

He  is  not  a  man  of  learning,  but  he  is  what  is 
better,  if  vou  cannot  be  both — he  is  a  man  of  educa- 
tion.  We  use  the  word  education  in  its  most  literal 
sense,  and  as  distinguished  from  learning.  The 
man  of  learning  is  a  reservoir,  receiving  into  its 
ample  basin  the  stream  that  comes  dashing  from  the 
mountain,  and  the  droj)  that  trickles  from  the  rock  ; 
the  man  of  education  is  the  powerful  and  polished 
steam-engine,  drawing  from  the  nearest  fountair, 
digesting  its  aliment  into  forces^  moving  its  brawny 
arms  like  a  Titan,  l)ut  breathing  softly  as  a  sleeping 
child,  while  a  thousand  wheels  go  buzzing  at  its  will. 
There  were  more  learned  men  in  England  than  Wil- 
liam Pitt,  but  it  may  be  questioned  if  in  all  England 
there  was  a  man  better  educated  than  he.  Adam 
Smith  could  write  the  Wealth  of  Nations,  but  he 
could  never  have  replenished  the  bankrupt  treasury. 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER, 


219 


Not  a  learned  scholar  of  Oxford  or  of  Cambridge 
would  have  risked  his  professor's  hat  in  that  tempest 
of  disaster  wdiere  Pitt  stood  fearless,  though  alone. 
The  old  ship  trembled  in  the  trough  of  a  sea  which 
threatened  each  moment  to  engulf  her ;  but  a  master 
had  come  to  the  command ;  the  wave-w^ashed  deck 
was  conscious  of  his  tread, — the  helm  felt  the  magic 
of  his  touch, — the  crew  caught  the  spirit  of  his  trum- 
[)et  tones.  ^ Round  swept  the  bow  before  the  sea, — out 
flew  the  canvas  to  the  gale, — and  away  leaped  the  ship, 
like  a  steed  that  knows  his  rider.  This  man,  Pitt, 
was  an  educated  man  in  the  strictest  acceptance  of 
the  w^ord. 

The  careful  observer  must  have  noticed  that  the 
pursuits  of  business  furnish  some  advantages  for 
education  wdiich  the  schools  do  not  afford  ;  and  that  in 
some  respects  they  produce  a  more  ready  and  efficient 
style  of  mental  discipline,  a  better  knowledge  of 
human  nature,  a  higher  proficiency  in  that  grandest 
of  arts — the  art  of  using  the  minds  and  the  learning 
of  other  men.  Such  advantages  Mr.  Crozer  has 
enjoyed.  He  has  gained  the  power  of  thinking 
closely  and  consecutively;  can  concentrate  his  atten- 
tion at  will;  and  is  capable  of  certain  processes  of 
mind,  dissimilar  in  their  nature,  and  rarely  associated 
in  the  same  individual.  He  seems  equally  able  to 
grasp  comprehensively  the  outlines  of  a  great  enter- 


220 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


221 


prise,  and  to  examine  it  in  its  minnte  details — the 
result,  most  probably,  of  his  necessities  at  the  head  of 
a  business  which  demanded  so  frecpiently  the  practice 
of  both  these  processes  of  mental  activity.  He  is  a 
man  of  marked  decision  of  character,  possessing,  in 
an  unusual  degree  what  Mr.  Foster  calls  the  "con- 
stituents of  this  commanding  quality."  Indeed  the 
resemblance  is  so  striking  that  we  are  almost  led  to 
believe  he  must  have  made  that  noble  essay  of  Foster 
a  special  study,  although  we  find  no  mentiou  of  the 

fact. 

A  man  thus  educated  should  be  useful ;  he  should 
not  live  for  himself  alone,  or  for  his  fauiily.  With  a 
fortune  at  his  disposal,  he  should  not  permit  even  his 
business  atlairs  to  eugross  too  much  of  his  attention. 
In  studyiug  the  character  of  such  a  mau,  we  may 
justly  incpiire  what  use  he  is  makiug  of  his  time,  his 
talent,  and  his  fortune.  Xor  shall  we  be  disappointed  ; 
for  as  we  follow  him  in  his  daily  life,  we  shall  find 
him  interested  and  active  iu  almost  all  the  real  be- 
nevolence of  the  day.  The  beuevolence  of  his  own 
denomination  not  onlv,  but  of  other  denominations, 
and  of  no  denomination  at  all.  From  the  work  of 
the  Christian  Commission  he  is  just  emerging.  An 
A«vlum  for  the  Insane  has  already  received  his 
irenerous  contribution.  Of  the  Training  School  for 
Feeble-minded  Children  he  is  the  president;  as  also 


of  a  Home  for   Friendless  Children,  and  of  a  Wo- 
man's Hospital.     He    is   president  of  the   Pennsyl- 
vania Colonization  Society,  and  actively  engaged  in 
its  work.     To  the  poor  of  the  great  city  with  which 
his  interests  are  so  closely  identified,  he  is  accustomed 
to  contribute  annually  and   largely.     In  the  endow- 
ment of  colleges  and  schools,  he  is  deeply  interested ; 
as   also   in  the  suj)port  of  Christian   missions  in  his 
own  and  other  lands.     Of  a  society  for  the  education 
of  young  men  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  he  has 
been  for  years  the  president,  contributing  largely  to 
its  funds.     He  has  great  faith  in  the  usefulness  of  good 
books,  and  through  the  publishing  society  of  his  own 
denomination,  of  whose  Board  he  is  president,  he  is 
giving   in    bountiful   sums    for   their   dissemination. 
Bible  societies,  tract  societies,  and  the  Sundav-school 
Union  are  engaging  his  attention.     He  finds  time  also 
to   listen  to   many   private   aj)pli('ations  for  aid,  and 
examine   them    minutelv.     His   svmi)athv    is   easilv 
aroused,  but  this  does  not  avail  in  your  behalf;  if 
you    wish    his   aid,  you    must   carry   his  judgment. 
When  an  applicant  is  deferred  for  a  more  intelligent 
understanding  ^^i  the  case,  he  need  not  fear  it  is  for- 
gotten :  it  will  be  faithfully  considered  and  decided. 
All  this  work  for  humanity   requires  time,  if  it   be 
done  wisely,  and  it  is  believed  that  his  beneficence  is 
mainly  limited  by  his  oj)])ortunities. 


19 


900 


LIFE  OF  J  any  p.  cuozer. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZEll. 


223 


But  why  is  he  thus  ocjcupied  witli  ^chenie^  of  he- 
n3vukMice?  Is  it  from  weariness  of  wealtli?  or  fi'om 
love  of  fame?  or  from  that  tenderness  of  heart  whieh 
leads  to  svni])athv  with  woe?  A  sintjle  liour  in  liis 
presence  will  convince  you  that  it  is  from  motives 
better  than  either.  In  liis  view,  this  method  of  life 
is  not  optional,  but  imperative.  For  more  than 
twenty  years  he  has  been  deeply  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  his  property  is  not  his  own — he  holds  it  as 
a  sacred  trust,  which  has  been  committed  to  his  care, 
and  feels  his  accountaI)ilitv  as  a  ntcward.  The  same 
principle  is  extended  to  his  time,  liis  talent,  and  him- 
self. This  idea  of  a  steivar(hhip  is  italicised  in  all  his 
thoughts.  As  you  turn  to  his  diary — containing  tlie 
secrets  of  his  heart,  as  recorded  for  no  eve  but  Ids 
own — you  are  surprised  at  the  frequency  of  the  word ; 
and  learn  how  completely  the  idea  has  gained  posses- 
sion of  his  mind,  and  become  a  ruling  principle  of 
his  action. 

The  moraUtij  of  such  a  man  is,  of  course,  above 
reproach;  but  jnorality,  like  health,  exists  in  all 
degrees.  With  him  its  precepts  have  become  estab- 
lished priiicijjic.^.  Few  men  illustrate  more  finely 
what  Bishop  Butler  calls  "habits  of  virtue.^' 

Better  than  all,  he  is  a  Clwisfhin  nmii.  This  is  the 
secret  of  his  ])ower,  the  controlling  principle  of  his 
action.     In  that  hour  when  he  "sat   among  the  boys 


•t 


in  the  farm-house  kitchen  "  he  had  been  caught  up  to 
the  bosom  of  his  Lord.  A  personal  love  of  his  Ee- 
deemer  has  been  the  inspiraticTn  of  his  life.  It  was 
this,  which  sent  him  to  his  father's  library  to  make 
amends  for  his  meagre  opi)ortunities  at  school; — this, 
which,  in  his  early  toil,  lengthened  the  weary  days  for 
study,  and  illumined  the  dreams  of  his  short  sleep. 
It  was  this,  which  developed  the  industry,  the  perse- 
verance, and  integrity  of  his  business  career; — this, 
which  has  moulded  and  rounded  his  character,  and 
binds  liim,  by  every  tie  of  gratitude  and  love,  to  use 
the  wealth  entrusted  to  his  care  for  the  jj^lorv  of  God 
and  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-men. 

In  the  outward  duties  of  religion  we  find  him  sim- 
ple and  unostentatious.  Rising  early — often  in  the 
winter  while  the  stars  are  still  shininfj: — he  drives  the 
freshness  of  morning  to  his  private  meditation  and 
prayer.  In  the  worship  of  his  household  he  officiates 
with  priestly  dignity,  impressing  all  who  are  present 
with  the  fervor  and  earnestness  of  his  devotion.  At 
the  weekly  })rayer-meeting  he  is  uniformly  found, 
uniting  with  the  humblest  of  his  people  in  the  duties 
of  prayer  and  j)raise,  and  sj)eaking  words  of  faithful 
Christian  exhortation.  On  Sunday  mornino:  vou  will 
find  him  amonff  the  children  of  his  villafrt^ — in  the 
Sunday-school.  He  has  been  the  superintendent  of  a 
Sunday-school  for  nearly  forty  vears.     In  the  worship 


224 


LIFE  OF  JOIiy  p.  CEOZER. 


of  the  sanctuary  he   is  an   example  of  serious  and 
devout  attention. 

Such  are  the  general  outlines  of  his  life  and  cha- 
racter; and  he  impresses  us  Avith  the  wealth  of  his 
manliness — or  rather  with  the  graces  of  his  godliness. 
Few  words  have  more  in  common,  few  have  more 
that  is  distinctively  peculiar  to  each,  than   these  two 
words,  "manliness"  and  "godliness."     Manliness  is 
the  mountain-side  where  a  human  foot  may  climb — up 
above  the  flowers — above  the  mosses — above  the  rocks ; 
but  where  its  pathway  ceases,  the  path  of  godliness 
begins.     There   are    heights   above,   lying   in    vestal 
whiteness,  j)iercing  the  clouds    which   bathe  them — 
lieights  which  mortal  foot  unaided  never  trod.     Their 
crystal   pathway  is   for   him   whose  human  weakness 
finds  the  grace  and  guidance  of  his  G(k1. 

We  have  followed  the  subject  of  this  narrative 
through  the  history  of  a  long  life,  and  found  that  life 
sustained  and  strengthened  by  a  Christian  faith.  He 
is  now  about  to  die!  I^t  us  sc^  if  the  hopes  which 
cheered  him  in  his  life  will  sustain  and  solace  him 
in  his  death. 

We  have  alreadv  alluded  to  the  fact  that  in  entering'' 
upon  the  duties  of  the  new  year  (LSOG)  Mr.  Crozer 
formed  the  purpose  of  making  donations  in  much 
larger  amounts  than  he  luid  ever  before  bestowed. 
He  now  began   to  give  shape  to  an  enterprise  which, 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


225 


although  he  did  not  live  to  complete  it,  w^as  grandly 
consummated  by  his  children.     Among  other  olyects 
which  were  engaging  his  attention,  he  had  become 
deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  nation's  frecd- 
men;   and  with  a  view  of  forming  some  well-laid 
plan  in  their  behalf,  he  prepared  for  a  journey  which 
he  hoped  to  extend  over  a  large  portion  of  the  South- 
ern States.     On  the  1st  of  February,  186G,  he  started 
with  several  members  of  his  family,  including  two 
of  his  sons  and  his  son-in-law.  Dr.  Griffith.     After 
an  absence  of  a  few  days,  it  became  evident  to  Mr. 
Crozer  that   his   strength  was  foiling,  and  that   his 
disease— that  of  the  kidneys,  from  which  he  had  long 
been  a  sufferer — was  assuming  a  more  serious  form. 
While  at  Petersburg,  Virginia,  he  decided  to  return. 
The  journey  was  pursued  to  its  completion  by  Dr. 
Griffith  and  the  author  of  this  narrative — a  journev 
which  will  long  be  remembered  ;  extendins:  throu<di 
the  Atlantic   States    to  Savannah,  thence  inland    to 
Montgomery,  southward  by  the  Alabama  river  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  across  to  New  Orleans,  and  north- 
ward by  the  Mississippi  States  to  Memphis ;  where, 
on  Monday,  the  5th  of  ]\rarch,  we  were  both,  on  the 
same  day,  and  almost  at  the  same  hour,  summoned 
by  telegraph  to  return.     Our  message  was  frei(rhted 
with  a  double  sorrow:    it  contained   tidings  of  the 
dangerous    illness    of  Mr.   Crozer,  and    also   of  the 


226 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZE R. 


dying  condition  of  my  tenderly-beloved  parishioner, 
Dr.  David  Javne. 

No  serious  alarm  at  the  condition  of  Mr.  Crozer 
had  been  felt  bv  his  familv  at  the  time  of  his  return  ; 
but  he  himself  seems  to  have  been  deej)ly  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  his  life  was  drawing  to  its  close. 
From  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Upland  the  progress 
of  his  disease  was  rapid,  with  only  such  intervals  of 
a  more  hopeful  kind  as  atlbrdcd  temporary  relief. 
The  best  of  medical  aid  failed  to  stay  its  progress ; 
and  soon,  in  the  confinement  of  his  room,  he  laid 
down  upon  his  dying  bed.  While  all  hoped  for  his 
recovery,  he  knew  it  was  impossible,  and  calndy 
awaited  the  result.  At  times  the  ajjonv  of  his 
b;)dily  pain  was  almost  insufferable,  but  his  mind 
was  at  rest. 

To  his  eldest  daughter  lie  said,  ^^  I  do  not  want  my 
family  to  give  way  to  their  feelings  before  me,  for  it 
would  unnerve  me.  I  want  vou  all  to  prav  that  no 
dark  cloud  may  come  over  me  at  the  last,  but  that 
my  faith  may  be  strong  and  clear,  and  that  God  will 
give  me  grace  to  bear  all  patiently.''  She  replied, 
"  We  have  asked  this  for  vou,  and  I  have  asked 
another  boon — that  your  life  may  be  spared  to  us." 
He  answered,  "  I  had  rather  vou  would  ask  for  the 
other,  my  child." 

One  morning,  as  he  was   raised   in  bed  to  take  his 


LIFE   OF  JOHX  P.  CROZER. 


227 


le 


cup  of  coffee,  the  shutters  were  opened.  As  tl 
cheerful  light  broke  in,  he  quoted  with  deep  emotion 
those  noble  words  of  Milton,  from  the  '^  Paradise 
Lost,"  commencing, 

'-  Ilail,  lioly  light !  ofrs])ring  of  heaven,  first-born." 

On  another  occasion  he  said  to  his  familv,  Avho 
were  assend)led  in  his  room,  "  I  feel  deeply  my  own 
unworthiness,  and  how  little  I  have  done  for  my 
fellow-men  and  for  the  glory  of  Gcd.  Oh,  I  so  much 
regret  I  had  not  carried  out  my  good  resolutions,  and 
given  away  more  last  year !  I  feel  reproached  that  I 
did  not;  but  my  children  must  try  to  forget  all 
their  father's  weaknesses  and  imperfections,  and 
remember  only  the  few  good  traits  he  possessed,  if  he 
had  any."  One  of  his  daughters  replied,  "  Father,  I 
know  you  do  not  want  praise,  and  I  will  not  give  it ; 
but  the  Avorld  says,  you  have  been  benevolent,  and 
have  given  away  a  great  deal."  He  answered,  "  Mv 
child,  what  I  say  is  between  God  and  my  own  soul. 
I  have  done  nothing  in  comparison  with  what  I  should 
have  done." 

At  his  request,  there  was  read  to  him  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  John.  He  appeared  to  dwell  Avith  delight 
upon  the  passage,  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled. 
Ye  believe  in  God,  believing  also  in  me.  In  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions ;  if  it  were  not  so. 


228 


LIFE  OF  JO  US  r.  CROZE  R, 


I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you."  During  the  reading  of  this  passage  his  physi- 
cian came  in,  but  Mr.  Crozer  desired  the  cliapter  to 
be  finished.  At  the  close  he  said,  "  Doctor,  I  never 
desire  to  obtrude  my  religious  views  upon  others ;  but 
I  am  a  believer  in  the  religion  of  Jesus.  I  have 
confidence  in  you  as  my  physician,  and  am  glad  that 
I  have ;  but  I  also  have  confidence  in  the  great  Phy- 
sician, and  1  look  to  him  now,  in  the  time  «>f  my 
weakness  and  suffering." 

During  his  illness  a  letter  of  friendly  condolence 
was  received  from  Mr.  J.  S.  Newbold,  and  also  one 
from  Mr.  Geo.  H.  Stuart,  with  whom  he  had  been 

intimatelv  associated   in  the  work  of  the  Christian 

%i 

Commission. 

Mr.  Crozer,  punctual  even  now,  insisted  on  send- 
ing answers.  Too  weak  to  write,  he  dictated 
his  replies,  one  of  his  daughters  acting  a,s  his 
amanuensis : 

To  J.  S.  Newbold,  Esq.,  he  dictated  the  following: 

''Upland,  Muivh  3,  isr.f). 

"My  Deaii  Fiuend: — ^ly  daughter  has  just  in- 
ibrmed  nic  that  a  syinpatlilzing  letter  wa<  ror-oived 
from  vou  some  davs  ai!;().  The  familv,  on  account  of 
iiiv  extreme  prostration,  iiad  thought  it  best  to  conceal 
from   me  even  communications   of   triendship.      But 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


229 


with  you,  my  dear  friend,  sympathy  under  every  cir- 
cumstance is  sweet.  We  have  acted  much  together, 
and  harmoniously,  not  only  as  men  of  business,  but 
as  Christian  men.  It  is  possible  that  it  may  be  the 
will  of  God  we  shall  meet  no  more  on  earth,  but  a 
bright  future  is  before  us.  Farewell,  my  dear  friend. 
Be  steadfast  in  faith.  Pray  for  your  friend,  that  he 
may  be  resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  whether  in  life  or 
in  death. 

"  Affectionately  your  brother  in  Christ, 

"  J.  P.  Crozer." 


His  rejdy  to  Mr.  Stuart's  letter  was  as  follows: 

Upland,  March  3,  1866. 
"  Mv  Dear  Chrlstiax  Friend  :— It  has  pleased 
my  heavenly  Father  to  afflict  me  sorelv,  but  he  has 
graciously  granted  me  his  kind  support  in  affliction, 
and  I  have  been  enabled  to  kiss  the  hand  which  chas- 
tised. It  had  been  my  impression  that  this  illness 
would  be  my  last — that  I  should  no  more  mingle  with 
my  Christian  friends  on  earth.  To  me,  the  future 
still  seems  uncertain,  although  my  family  think  I 
may  recover.  I  Avish  to  submit  all  to  my  hea- 
venly Father  for  life  or  death.  If  life  is  prolonged, 
it  is  my  fervent  desire  to  consecrate  its  remnant 
entirely  to  the  service  of  my  Master.  Portions  of 
my  family,  with  myself,  had  gone  to  Washington  to 


20 


230 


LIFE  OF  joiiy  P.  cnozER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


231 


participate  in  the  delightful  service^*  of  the  Christian 
Commission,  but  prostration  compelled  me  to  hurry 
home.  Do  von,  mv  dear  brother,  work  on  as  a 
standard-bearer  in  the  great  cause.  We  shall  meet 
around  the  throne  if  we  meet  no  more  on  earth. 
AYork  on  fearlessly,  as  you  have  done.  I  am  grateful 
for  the  remembrances  of  my  dear  brethren  in  prayer, 
and  would  ask  a  continuance  thereof.  How  incon- 
ceivably small  denominational  differences  appear  on 
the  threshold  of  the  eternal  world  !  Mv  weakness 
compels  my  daughter  to  write  for  me. 

"  Your  brother  in  Christ, 

"  J.  P.  Crozer." 

In  an  interval  of  his  terrible  illness,  when  com- 
paratively free  from  suffering,  he  said  to  his  wife  and 
his  children,  who  were  all  assembled  in  his  room: 
"  You  are  my  stewards,  my  almoners  to  carry  on  the 
work  which  I  have  so  imperfectly  begun.  You  must 
take  it  up  where  I  have  left  off,  and  do  it  for  me. 
Oh !  T  had  so  much  still  to  do !  See  that  vou  are 
faithful  stewards." 

Once,  wlien  his  wife  with  Samuel  and  ^Irs.  Buck- 
nell  were  standing  by  his  bed-side,  he  said,  "  You,  as 
a  Christian  gentleman,  and  you,  as  Christian  ladies, 
will  have  immense  responsibilities  thrown  upon  you. 
Oh,  be  faithful !     You,  my  dear  wife,  will  have  a  large 


income.  Oh,  use  it  for  God !  Be  faithful  in  vour 
stewardship."  These  injunctions  Avere  often  reiterated 
during  his  sickness,  and  enforced  with  a  look  of 
earnest  pleading,  which  evinced  their  deep  sincerity. 

In  the  forenoon  of  AVednesday,  March  7,  his  wife 
and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Campbell,  and  his  seven  children, 
being  present,  Charlotte  Elliott's  familiar  hvmn  was 
repeated  to  him  : 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea 
But  tliat  tliy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  tliou  bid'st  me  come  to  thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come  I 

"Just  as  I  am,  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark  blot, 
To  thee  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come ! 

"Just  as  I  am  ; — thou  wilt  receive  ; 
Wilt  welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve; 
Because  thy  promise  I  believe, — 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come  ! 

"Just  as  I  am  !— thy  love  unknown 
Has  broken  every  barrier  down  : 
Now  to  be  thine,  yea,  thine  alone, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come  !" 

Until  his  strength  failed,  Mr.  Crozer  joined  in  the 
utterance  of  the  words.  After  requesting  his  mouth 
to  be  moistened,  he  spoke  of  not  having  the  full  hap- 


w 


■■-«B»i*^!r- J  ■•  ■>  ^ 


232 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZKIl. 


piness  and  full  assurance  of  faith  which  he  desired, 
addinor,  "  The  dvinji  stroke  is  not  on  me  now.  I  wish 
it  w^ere,  that  I  might  breathe  my  soul  out  into  the 
bosom  of  my  God."  He  then  asked  Samuel  to  lead 
in  prayer,  addressing  him  as  "  my  dear  first-born." 
He  desired  them  in  their  devotions  to  ask,  not  so  much 
for  his  restoration  to  health,  as  for  more  joy  and 
peace  in  believing,  and  that  no  cloud  might  rest  upon 
him  in  his  dvinoj  hour. 

On  the  Ibllowins^  dav  he  took  a  final  leave  of  a 
young  friend  who  was  present,  of  his  private  clerk, 
and  of  John  Prettv,  his  orardener.  The  latter  had  been 
in  his  employ  for  seventeen  years,  and  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  his  fellow-deacon  in  the  church.  To  him 
Mr.  Crozer  said,  giving  him  his  hand,  "John,  my  old 
friend,  we  shall  see  each  other  no  more  in  the  flesh. 
There  are  many  things  I  should  like  to  say  to  you, 
but  I  cannot  say  them  now.  I  am  the  subject  of 
many  imperfections ;  nevertheless,  I  can  say,  the 
Saviour  is  mine  and  I  am  his.  ^  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith. 
Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  right- 
eousness, which  the  Lord  the  righteous  judge  shall 
give  to  me  at  that  day,  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto 
all  them  also  that  love  his  ap[)caring.'"  He  then 
addressed  a  few  words  to  each  niciubcr  of  his  familv, 
Bpeaking  with  much  appropriateness  and  marked  ten- 


X 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


233 


derness  to  each;  and  again  charged  them  all  with 
great  solemnity  to  be  "  faithful  stewards." 

The  same  night,  after  being  bathed  by  his  wife,  he 
said  to  her,  "  Now  pray  that  I  may  sleep  the  sleep 
of  death."  She  replied,  "Oh,  no!  my  dear,  I  cannot 
pray  that  prayer."  "Well,  then,"  he  said,  "pray  any 
prayer  that  seemeth  to  Him  good." 

During  the  night  he  rested  some;  and  early  the 
next  morning  said,  "  I  shall  die  in  the  faith  of  Jesus." 
The  day  was  one  of  intense  suffering,  accompanied 
with  fearful  spasms  of  agonizing  pain.  For  two  hours 
he  was  supposed  to  be  dying ;  but,  at  intervals,  he 
exclaimed,  "My  God  doeth  all  things  well,"  "my 
God  doeth  all  things  well ;"  and  again, 

*'Jesiis,  JesiiP,  light  divine, 
Shine  upon  us  !  ever  shine  !" 

On  Saturday,  the  day  before  he  died,  he  said, 
"Jesus  is  my  all.  He  is  my  only  hope — my  only 
Saviour.  I  have  no  trust  but  in  him — he  is  my 
Saviour ;  and  though  lie  slay  me,  yet  w  ill  I  trust  in 
him."  He  then  recognized  his  son-in-law.  Dr.  Grif- 
fith, for  whom  he  had  asked  daily ;  and  who,  on  reach- 
ing home  only  the  afternoon  before,  had  been  but 
partially  recognized.  "  My  dear  son-in-law,  you  have 
my  welcome.  Oh,  work  for  Jesus  !  work  for  Jesus  ! 
work  for  Jesus!"  repeating  the  words  three  times. 

20  * 


234 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


Mr.  Bueknell,  his  other  son-in-law,  then  took  Dr. 
Griffith's  place.  Mr.  Crozer  took  his  hand,  as  he 
had  taken  Dr.  Griffith's,  and  said,  "  I  am  sustained 
throughout.  I  am  so  blesseil — no  anxietv — no  at- 
fright."  Mr.  Bueknell  said,  "  You  feel  the  everlast- 
ing arms  underneath  you?"  He  responded  with 
earnestness,  and  with  a  glow  of  heavenly  radiance 
upon  his  features,  "  Oh,  yes  !  underneath  me — under- 
neath nie,  Xo  more — now  let  me  die." 
His  children  then  sang  to  him  the  hymn, 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 

Drawn  from  Ininianuers  veins; 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 

Lose  all  their  guilty  stains," 

« 

A  little  later  they  said:  "Father,  we  are  all  w^ith 
you — mother  and  all  vour  children."  He  answered: 
"I  did  not  know  it;"  and  then  commenced  a  prayer 
in  these  words:  "Under  peculiar  circumstances  I 
come  to  thee,  O  Lord.  I  commit  my  family  into  thy 
hand.  I  know  not  how  to  commit  them,  but  I  feel 
that  they  are — they  are — "  After  a  pause,  in  which 
the  mind  reeled  for  a  moment,  he  added:  "Bless 
them;"  and  then,  as  if  faith  had  heard  the  answer, 
he  added,  "God  will  protect  my  babes!  He  will 
protect  my  babes !" 

They  then  all  joined  in  singing  the  beautiful  hymn, 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER.  23o 

"  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee! 
Let  the  water  and  the  blood, 
From  thv  riven  side  which  flowed, 
Be  of  sin  the  double  cure — 
Cleanse  me  from  its  guilt  and  power." 

He  responded:  "I  have  no  other.  I  want  no 
other.  My  only  trust — my  only  hope — my  God — ■ 
my  Saviour."     About  noon  they  sang, 

"Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name; 
'Tis  music  to  my  ear ; 
Fain  would  I  sound  it  out  so  loud 
That  earth  and  heaven  might  hear." 

With  an  expression  of  great  joy  upon  his  counte- 
nance, and  with  hands  upraised,  he  joined  in  the  song. 
When  it  ceased,  he  said:  "I  love  Jesus  with  my  last 
dying  breath.  Now  sing,  'Salvation,  oh,  the  joyful 
sound!'"  The  hymn  was  sung;  and  afterward  another 
favorite  of  his: 


"  Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned 
Upon  the  Saviour's  brow ; 
His  head  with  radiant  glories  crowned, 
His  lips  with  grace  o'erflow." 

"I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,"  he  added,  "long- 
ing to  depart."     They  then  sang, 


236  LIFE  OF  jony  r.  crozer. 

"  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand, 
And  cast  a  wishful  eye 
To  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land, 
"Where  my  possessions  lie." 

As  a  paroxysm  of  pain  returned,  he  rejieated: 
"Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him."  As 
his  wife  sat  by  his  bedside  holding  his  hand,  he  ex- 
claimed: "Sweet  is  the  journey — sweet  is  the  journey. 
My  head  upon  my  Maker's  breast — my  head  upon 
my  Maker's  breast !''  Then  stretching  forth  the  other 
hand,  he  said:  "Give  me  thy  hand,  Jesus:  I  want  no 
other  hand  but  thine." 

This  day  of  joy  was  followed  by  a  night  of  intense 
illness.  He  was  dvintr  for  manv  hours.  About  five 
the  next  morning,  one  of  his  daughters  repeated  to 
him  the  Scripture  commencing:  "For  we  know,  that 
if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved, 
we  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  She  then,  with  lips 
close  to  his  ear,  asked  if  he  still  loved  Jesus.  One 
hand  and  all  one  side  were  paralyzed ;  but  raising  the 
other  hand,  he  answered  distinctly,  "Yes."  This  was 
his  last  intelligible  word.  He  died  at  half-past  nine, 
on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  March  11,  18(3G.  He  had 
liv^d  to  see  the  li";ht  of  the  dav  he  loved  so  well: 
and  as  the  children  of  the  Sunday-school  were  singing 
their  songs  of  morning  praise,  their  friend  and  patron 


'  ■""•fl     lint.    i»,- ."  '  "  1  T&?  P     -       ?     -  r  Jtl 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER, 


237 


passed  to  the  songs  and  worship  of  the  white-robed 
throng. 

"Dear  as  thou  wast,  and  justly  dear, 
We  will  not  weep  for  thee ; 
One  thought  shall  check  the  starting  tear — 
It  is  that  thou  art  free. 

"And  thus  shall  faith's  consoling  power 
The  tears  of  love  restrain  ; 
Oh,  who  that  saw  thy  parting  hour 
Could  wish  thee  here  again? 

"Triumphant,  in  thy  closing  eye 
The  hope  of  glory  shone  ; 
Joy  breathed  in  thy  expiring  sigh, 
To  think  the  race  was  run. 


*'The  passing  spirit  gently  fled, 
Sustained  by  grace  divine  ; 
Oh,  may  such  grace  on  us  be  shed. 
And  make  our  end  like  thine  I" 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"and  their  works  do  follow  them.'' 

f\N  the   Wednesday  following    liis   departnre,  the 
^  remains  of  Mr.  Crozer  were  borne  to  their  rest- 
ing-place, in  the  family  bnrying  ground  at  l^pland. 
The  citizens  of  Philadelphia  eond)ined  with  the  citi- 
zens of  his  native  county  in  doing  honor  to  the  sad 
occasion.     Mercliants,  manufiicturers,  and  ])rofessional 
men  united  in  paying  their  respects  to  his  memory. 
The  stately  mansion  of  its  late  owner  was  crowded  to 
its  utmost  capacity,  and  the  village  church  was  flir 
too  small  to  receive  the  long  procession  which  followed 
his  remains.     The  ministry  of  his  own  denomination 
in  Philadelphia  attended  in  a  body.     Clergymen  of 
other   branches   of  the   great   Christian    flimilv— in- 
eluding  the  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  and  Methodist- 
were  also  present.     It  was  a  touching  sight  to  witness 
the  deep  feeling  manifested   by  his   o]ieratives.     As 
they  stood  by  his  coffin,  and  gazed  upon  his  inanimate 
form,  tears  flowed  a|)ace,  and  rolled  down  the  cheeks 
alike  of  the  women  and  the  men. 

238 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEO  ZEE. 


239 


The  religious  services  at  the  church  were  conducted 
by  the  pastor.  Dr.  J.  M.  Pendleton.  The  Eev. 
William  Wilder,  a  former  pastor  of  the  deceased, 
offered  prayer.  Dr.  Pendleton  preached  from  2  Tim. 
iv.  7  :  ''I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.''  He  was  followed 
in  remarks  by  the  estimable  Dr.  J.  H.  Kennard,  so 
soon  to  join  the  friend  of  wliom  he  spoke,  amid  the 
realities  of  the  eternal  world.  Some  closing  words 
were  added  by  the  author  of  this  narrative ;  and  Rev. 
Alfred  Lee,  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Delaware — 
a  personal  friend  of  the  departed — read  a  service  at 
the  grave. 

The  will  of  Mr.  Crozer  was  written  bv  himself. 
It  is  a  very  remarkable  document.  An  extract  from  it 
will  illustrate  how  naturally  religion  may  be  blended 
with  business,  and  the  dry,  hard  forms  of  a  legal 
instrument,  be  suffused  with  the  warmth  and  beauty 
of  the  Christian  faith  : 


EXTRACT     from     WILL. 

"My  special  desire,  left  here  on  record  for  my 
children  and  descendants,  is,  that  harmony,  union,  and 
love  may  ever  continue  amongst  them.  I  have  some- 
times witnessed  unhappy  family  dissensions  in  the 
distribution  of  estates;  but  I  earnestly  entreat  that  this 
may   not    be    the   case    in    my   loved    family.     That 


240 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  VROZER. 


family  inherits  a  large  estate  compared  with  the  for- 
tunes of  their  aneestrv  ;  and  I  have,  to  the  best  of  mv 
judgment,  distributed  this  estate  without  partiality. 
I  have  sought  to  guard  my  daughters  against  indis- 
cretion or  misfortune,  in  securing  a  portion  of  their 
estates  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  themselves  and  their 
heirs  and  relatives  by  blood;  but  I  have  left  to  each 
in  residue  a  pretty  large  amount  subject  to  their  own 
disposal. 

"I  recommend  to  my  beloved  wife  to  distribute 
in  deeds  of  charity  and  benevolence  all  her  surplus 
income ;  but  at  the  same  time  to  maintain  a  liberal, 
though   unostentatious  style  of  living,   such  as   her 
large  income  will  well  allow  and  sanction.     She  will, 
I  am  sure,  seek  to  continue  that  same  moral  and 
religious  influence  over  her  household  which  we  have, 
for  so  many  years  labored,  however  imperfectly,  to 
pursue.     Lastly,  I  commit  my  family,  to  whom  I  am 
most    devotedly    attached,    to   the    keeping   of    that 
Almighty   Power  who  has  promised   to  regard   the 
widow   and    the   flitherless.      I    have   been   signally 
blessed  through  a  long  life — my  health  has  been  uni- 
formly good;  I  have  had  great  worldly  prosperity; 
have  been  e^ptvially  blessed  in  a  most  estimable  con- 
sort, who  has  ever  devoted  her  untiring  labors  to  the 
welfare,  comf  )rt,  and  ha]»[>iiie^s  of  her  husband  and 
family.     Our  children  have  been  kind  and  affection- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  (JUOZKR. 


241 


ate ;  I  have  been  spared,  too,  to  see  them  grow  up  to 
man  and  womanhood,  and  four'-'  of  them  settled  in 
life.  Oh  that  I  were  more  thankful  for  these  many 
and  great  mercies !  I  have,  with  my  loved  wife, 
though  in  conscious  weakness,  endeavored  to  train  my 
children  by  precept  and  example  in  the  Mear  of  the 
JiOrd ;'  and  let  me  now  entreat  my  dear  family  and 
descendants,  when  the  hand  which  now  writes  shall 
be  palsied  in  death,  to  cherish  recollections  of  their 
father's  labors  and  prayers ;  and,  while  they  pity  and 
seek  to  forget  his  imperfections,  which  are  many,  let 
them  regard  his  here  recorded  last  injunction — to  live 
for  ctcrnltij.  My  hojie  is  in  and  through  the  merits 
of  Jesus  Christ  alone.  Let  my  dear  family  love  and 
serve  and  confide  in  him,  and  in  him  onlv." 


For  months  following  his  departure  the  bereaved 

family  continued  to  receive  new  testimonials  to  his 

worth ;    and    learned,   as  they  had    never  known  it 

before,  how  dearly  he  had  been  loved,  how  high  in 

public  estimation  he  had  stood.     Among  the  many 

expressions  which   w^ere  received   was  one  from   the 

Board  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society, 

signed  by  Mr.  Henry  Croskey — w^ho  had  been  called 

to   fill  temporarily  the  office  of  Chairman,   vacated 

by  the  death  of  Mr.  Crozer — and  attested  by  Dr.  J. 

*  Five  at  the  time  of  his  dentil. 
21  Q 


•242 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZE R. 


H.  Castle,  Secretary;'  another  from  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary 
Union;  also  a  very  interesting  communication  from 
his  former  associates  of  the  Christian  Commission, 
signed  by  ^Ir.  Geo.  H.  Stuart,  Bisliop  Simpson,  ^Ir. 
Stephen  Cohvell,  ^Ir.  Joseph  Patterson,  and  Horatio 
Gates  Jones,  Esq.,  the  surviving  trustees. 

Communications  of  similar  character,  all  expressive 
of  regard  for  Mr.  Crozer  personally,  and  indicative 
of  hi«j:h  esteem  for  his  Christian  character,  Avere  re- 
ceived  from  the  American  Baptist  Home  jNIission 
Society,  the  American  Sunday-school  Union,  the 
Pennsylvania  Training  School  for  Feeble-minded 
Children,  the  Union  School  and  Children's  Home, 
the  Woman's  Hospital  of  Philadel})hia,  the  Penn- 
sylvania Colonization  Society,  the  Delaware  County 
National  Bank,  the  Pennsylvania  Baptist  General 
Association,  the  Pennsylvania  Baptist  Education 
Society,  and  the  Philadelphia  Baj^tist  Association. 

Mr.  Crozer's  desire,  so  often  expressed,  that  the 
work  of  Christian  beneficence  which  he  had  begun 
might  go  on  in  the  lives  of  his  children,  was  destined 
to  be  happily  fulfilled.  A\  itliin  a  month  from  the 
time  when  they  laid  him  in  the  grave,  they  estab- 
lished, as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory,  a  mis- 
sionary memorial  fund,  in  which,  to  use  the  beautiful 
thought   of  Dr.   Caldwell,   "  They  allow   the   spirit 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


243 


which  ruled  his  earthlv  life  to  build  his  monument." 
The  fund  was  given  in  trust  to  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society.  The  particulars  of  this  tasteful 
gift  are  gathered  from  the  records  of  the  Society. 


"Upland,  Pa.,  April,  1866. 
"  To  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  American  Baptist 
PuhUcation  Soeiett/: 

"  We,  the  family  of  the  late  John  P.  Crozer,  desire 
to  erect  a  Missionary  Memorial.  His  humility 
as  a  man,  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  his 
dislike  of  w^orldlv  show,  his  favorite  mode  of  bene- 
ficence, — unite  with  our  own  personal  preferences,  in 
su'i-irestino:  that  this  Memorial  should  not  consist  in  a 
monumental  pile  of  marble  or  granite,  the  magnifi- 
cence of  which  might  please  the  taste  of  some  occa- 
sional observer.  The  Memorial,  it  seems  to  us,  should 
be  one  that,  by  its  influence  under  the  Divine  bless- 
ing, will  bring,  through  all  coming  time,  joy  to  the  des- 
olate, sinners  to  Christ,  and  glory  to  God.  We,  there- 
fore, deem  it  best  to  establish  a  Missionary  Memorial. 

"And,  knowing  that  the  dear  departed  one  was 
deeply  interested  in  the  religious  condition  of  the 
Freedmen  of  this  countiy,  and  that,  previously  to 
his  death,  he  w^as  earnestly  considering  the  best  mode 
of  aiding  them, — we,  his  widow  and  children,  would 
take    up   and   complete    his    unfinished   work;  and, 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZKR. 

tiierefore,  offer  to  the  Board  of  the  American  Baptist 
rublieation  Society,  in  trusty  the  sum  of  Fifty  Thou- 
sand Dollars,  to  be  sacredly  held  by  you  as  the 

JOIIX    p.    CROZER    MEMORIAL    FUND     FOR     MISSIONS 
A.MONG  THE  COLORED  PEOPLE  OF  THIS  COUNTRY. 

"  This  Missionary  Memorial  Fund,  consisting 
of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  we  tender  to  you  in  j)erpe- 
tuity,  on  the  following  conditions  and  limitations,  viz  : 

"1.  That  it  shall  be  invested  and  kept  in  either 
United  States  or  in  Pennsylvania  State  Government 
loans,  or  in  the  funded  debt  of  the  city  of  riiiladel- 
phia,  or  iu  bond  and  first  mortgage  on  real  estate  in 
said  city,  or  in  first  mortgatre  u]>on  Pennsylvania 
Central  liailroad,  or  in  well-secured  ground-rents  in 
Philadel])hia;  as  may  be  decided  upon  and  approved 
by  any  existing  Board  of  Managers,  at  any  stated 
meeting  of  said  Board;  such  approval,  however, 
must  have  the  sanction  of  at  least  two-thirds  of  the 
entire  Board;  and  the  names  of  those  voting  in  the 
allirmative  must  be  recorded  on  the  minutes  of  the 
Board. 

"2.  Should  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society,  at  any  future  time,  by  any  regular  or  le^riti- 
mate  i)roceeding  or  action,  decide  to  change  its  name 
or  title,  or  become  united  Avith,  or  merged  into  any 
kindred  society  of  the  Baptist  denominatic  n,  enirao-ed 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


24 


o 


in  a  similar  work,  then  this  donation  may  be  placed 
under  the  direction,  and  be  subject  to  the  control  of 
such  new  organization  ;  but  the  purposes  of  the  donors, 
as  herein  specified,  must  bo  sacredly  regarded,  and 
neither  the  principal  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
nor  the  income  accruing  therefrom,  shall  be  diverted, 
or  suffered  to  flow  into  any  other  channel,  or  for  any 
other  object,  than  those  herein  specified.  If,  at  any 
time,  the  principal  sum  of  the  said  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  or  any  part  thereof,  or  the  income  accruing 
from  the  said  principal  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
shall  be  diverted  from  the  objects  and  purposes  herein 
specified,  then  the  said  principal  sum  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars  shall  revert  back  to  the  donors,  their  heirs  or 


assigns. 


"3.  That  the  Society  shall  keep  open,  upon  its 
ledffcr,  an  account  entitled  The  John  P.  Crozer  Mis- 
sionary  Memorial  Fund,  to  which  shall  be  credited 
the  income  from  the  invested  principal  of  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  to  wdiich  shall  be  charged  all 
donations  made  on  the  account  of  this  Fund. 

"  4.  That  the  income,  or  revenue  which  may  accrue 
from  the  investment  of  this  principal  sum  of  Miy 
thousand  dollars,  shall  be  expended  annually  as  fol- 
lows, viz : 

"(1.)  One-fourth  of  the  income  from  this  Memo- 
rial Fund  shall    be    used    aiumally   in   supplying 


21  - 


246 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


Sunday-school  library  books  and  publications  to  Bap- 
tist  Sunday-schools  of  colored  children. 

"All  applications  for  aid  from  this  Fund  shall  be 
carefully  considered  and  acted  upon  by  the  Board  of 
Managers,  and  grants  shall  be  made  only  to  such 
schools  as  are  found  to  be  really  needy,  ^o  school 
shall  receive  the  benefit  of  this  fund  to  a  greater 
amount  of  value  than  from  ten  to  sixteen  dollars. 

"  Our  own  observation  confirms  us  in  the  opinion, 
previously  expressed  by  the  departed  loved  one  to 
whom  this  Memorial  is  erected,  that  gifts  are  more 
valued,  and,  generally,  more  eifective,  when  not 
obtained  without  some  cost  and  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  recipients.  We,  therefore,  strongly  recommend, 
that,  as  a  general  rule,  Sunday-schools  applying  for 
aid  from  this  fund,  shall,  as  a  condition,  be  required 
to  purchase  from  the  Board  books  equal  in  value  to 
the  amount  donated. 

"  (2.)  One-fourth  of  the  income  from  this  Memo- 
rial Fund  shall  be  expended  annually  in  support- 
ing good  Sunday-school  missionaries  among  the 
colored  people,  who  shall  seek  to  strengthen  and  im- 
prove the  Sunday-schools  already  in  existence,  and  to 
aid  in  the  formation  of  new  Baptist  Sunday-schools, 
wherever  there  is  a  hope  of  their  being  permanently 
sustained. 

"(3.)  One-fourth    of    the    income   fr  m   the    said 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


247 


Memorial  Fund  shall  be  annually  exj  ended  in 
furnishing  colored  pastors  of  churches  with  suitable 
books  for  their  libraries,  to  aid  them  in  their  pulpit 
preparations. 

"  The  benefits  of  this  fund  shall  be  given  only  to 
those  pastors  who  are  recognized  by  the  Board  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  as  ministers  of 
good  Christian  character  and  of  approved  ministerial 
standing  in  the  denomination.  And  we  require  that 
the  Board  will,  at  all  times,  take  the  requisite  mea- 
sures to  fully  satisfy  themselves  with  reference  to  the 
worthiness  of  each  applicant,  especially  when  living 
at  a  distance.  No  pastor  may  receive  a  greater 
amount  from  this  fund  than  from  ten  to  sixteen 
dollars'  w^orth  of  books. 

"  Without  positively  specifying  the  books  that  shall 
be  given  in  each  case,  we  would  strongly  recommend, 
that  the  grants  shall  consist  of  books  like  the  *En- 
cyclopiedia  of  Beligious  Knowledge,'  ^The  Blood  of 
Jesus,'  *  Fuller's  Works,'  'Pengilly's  Scripture  Guide 
U)  Baj)tism,'  *  Baptist  Church  Directory,'  and  the  like. 
The  books  furnished  shall  all  be  well  bound  and  in 
good  salable  condition. 

"(4.)  One-fourth  of  the  income  from  the  said  Me- 
morial Fund  shall  be  expended  annually  in  aiding 
young  colored  men,  members  of  Baptist  churches, 
and  approved  by  the  churches  to  which  they  belong 


248 


LIFE  OF  J  any  r.  crozkr. 


and  the  institutions  of  learning  at  whith  they  are 
studyhig,  as  proper  eandidates  for  the  gospel  ministry, 
in  obtaining  such  literary  and  theological  instruction 
as  their  talents  and  circumstances  may  require.  The 
aid  may  be  given  in  the  form  of  necessary  text-books, 
and  in  the  payment  of  tuition;  and  shall  be  extended 
by  the  Board  through  the  school  or  institution,  that, 
in  their  judgment,  is,  at  the  time,  most  eifectually 
prosecuting  the  work  of  training  a  ministry  for  our 
colored  churches. 

"5.  It  is  the  desire  of  the  donors  that  the  income 
from  this  Missionary  Memorial  Fund  of  fifty  thou- 
sand  dollars  shall  be  divided  and  expended  equally 
each  year  in  prosecuting  the  four  kinds  of  mission- 
work  above  indicated.  But,  should  the  demand  for 
aid  in  behalf  of  any  one  of  the  above  specified  kii^ls 
of  mission-work  not  be  equal  in  any  given  year,  after 
a  proper  publicity  has  been  given  of  the  existence  of 
such  aid,  to  the  one-fourth  of  the  income,  for  the 
vear,  from  the  Memorial  Fund  of  fiftv  thousand 
dollars,  then,  in  such  case,  the  unexpended  balance 
iriay  be  expended  for  such  of  the  other  specified  kinds 
of  mission-work  as,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Board, 
needs  it  most. 

"G.  This  Memorial  Fund  is  given  expressly  for 
tlie  benefit  of  tlic  co/o/w?  people.  But,  if  at  any  time, 
the  race  should  l)ec()me  extinct  or  greatly  reduced,  so 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


249 


I 


that  from  these,  or  from  any  other  reasons,  the  de- 
mand on  the  Board  for  aid  for  the  colored  people,  in 
either  of  the  four  kinds  of  mission -work  herein 
specified,  is  not  equal  to  the  income  accruing  from  the 
said  INIemorial  Fund  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
then  the  unexpended  balance  may  be  used  by  the 
Board  in  furnishino;  libraries  to  Avhite  Sunday-schools 
and  to  i^astors  of  white  churches;  under  the  same 
conditions  and  limitations  as  Mr.  John  P.  Crozer 
specified  in  his  donations  to  tlie  Society  for  these 
inirposes. 

"7.  It  is  especially  stipulated  that  the  yearly  in- 
come derived  from  one-eighth  part  of  said  ]Memorl\l 
Fund  shall  be  expended  in  the  four  different  ways 
above  designated,  among  needy  applicants  from  evan- 
gelical churches  irrespective  of  denomination.  And 
this,  in  the  opinion  of  the  donor  of  this  eighth  part 
of  the  Memorial  Fund,  will  accord  with  the  views 
of  the  beloved  parent,  whose  language  on  his  dying 
bed  was :  '  Hoav  small  denominational  differences 
appear  on  the  threshold  of  eternity!'  It  is  further 
stipulated,  tnat  such  publicity  shall  be  given  to  the 
provisions  of  this  article  as  the  Board  of  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Publication  Society  shall  deem  just,  and, 
that  in  the  event  that,  at  the  expiration  of  any  year, 
any  portion  of  the  income  derived  from  said  one- 
eighth    part    shall    remain    undistributed,    the   said 


250 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CEOZER. 


Board  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society 
shall  distribute  this  reniaininj^  portion  as  hereinbefore 
directed  concerning  the  income  derived  from  the 
other  seven-eighth  parts  of  said  fund. 

"8.  That  the  Board  of  the  American  Baptist  Pub- 
lication Society  shall  publish  annually  a  detailed 
report  of  the  grants  made,  and  of  the  work  done  by 
the  expenditure  of  the  income  from  this  ^Ip:morial 
Fund  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  A  copy  of  said 
report  shall  be  sent  annually  to  each  of  the  donors 
while  they  live,  and  to  some  one  representative  of 
each  after  their  death. 

''  The  donors  shall  have  at  all  times  the  privilege 
of  examining  the  records  of  the  Board,  respecting  the 
investment  of  the  principal  sum  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars  constituting  this  INIissionary  Memorial  Fund, 
and  of  the  expenditure  of  its  income. 

"9.  The  terms  and  conditions  of  this  donation 
must  be  confirmed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Board,  and  shall  be  spread  in  full  upon 
the  Minutes  of  the  Board,  and  be  read  in  their  hcar- 
injr  as  often  as  once  a  vear;  we  suggest  that  it  be  at 
the  first  regular  meeting  in  eacli  year. 

This  movement  had  the  cheerful  co-operation  of  all 
the  members  of  his  family,  ^or  will  they  claim  the 
credit  of  the  enterprise  for  themselves.  They  be- 
lieved  that  simple  justice  to  his    memory  required 


■ 


i 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CBOZER 


251 


that   a  work,  which   he   had   contemplated   with  so 
much  interest,  should  be  thus  promptly  consummated. 

After  tlie  reading  of  the  above  communication,  the 
following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted: 

''  llesolved,  That  this  Board  gratefully  accept  this 
generous  donation  of  the  family  of  the  late  Mr.  Johj^ 
P.  Croze R,  upon  the  terms  and  stipulations  named.'' 

All  the  members  of  the  Board  present,  being  nine- 
teen in  number,  voted  in  the  affirmative.  Whereupon 
the  secretary  announced,  that  more  than  two-thirds 
of  the  resident  members  of  the  Board  havino;  voted 
in  favor  of  the  resolution,  the  Memorial  Fund  had 
been  accepted  witli  its  stipulations  by  the  Board. 

On  the  acceptance  of  this  trust  by  the  Board  of 
the  Society,  in  the  manner,  and  on  the  conditions 
proposed,  the  amount  was  at  once  passed  over  to  the 
treasurer,  and  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Board, 
invested  as  follows  :— $15,000  in  U.  S.  7.30's;  $15,000 
in  Penn.  11.  R.  1st  Mortgage  Bonds;  $10,000  in  City 
Cs,  New;  $10,000  in  State  6s,  War  Loan. 

AMien  the  announcement  of  this  laro-e  donation 
was  made  to  the  Society,  at  its  annual  meeting,  May 
21,  18G6,  Bartholomew  T.  Welch,  D.  D.,  led  the 
congregation  in  a  ])rayer  of  thanksgiving,  that  will 
never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  united  in  it. 

The  Society,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  placed  upon  its 
record  the  fi)llowing  commendatory  minute : 


252 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CIWZER. 


"  The  Committee  to  which  was  referred  the  i^ropo- 
sition  to  t.-iublish  the  John  P.  Crozer  Missionary 
Memorial  Fnnd,  ask  [)erinission  to  report : 

"John  P.  Crozer  is  happy  in  a  double  life.  Death 
has  given  him  a  place  elsewhere,  and  yet  has  not 
been  able  altoirether  to  lake  him  awav  from  his  old 
sphere.  Gone  forward  into  the  world  of  light  be- 
yond, not  his  name  only,  but  his  spirit,  still  lives 
here,  in  those  born  of  his  blood,  showing  that  money 
is  not  the  only  heritable  i)OSsession.  For  it  is  no 
dishonor  to  his  family — tliev  will  count  it  their  joy — 
to  trace  their  noble  beneficence  back  to  a  spring  in 
him,  whose  name  they  are  proud  to  bear.  They 
allow  the  spirit  which  ruled  his  earthly  life  also  to 
bnild  his  monument,  no^v  that  he  is  dead.  They 
let  him  still  live,  they  help  him  to  live  grandly,  and 
wiih  a  longer,  unending  life  of  good  in  the  work 
which  they  emi)ower  this  Society  to  do.  They  trust 
his  memory,  not  to  local  and  perishable  stone,  but  to 
a  work  which  shall  lind  its  [)lace  wherever  there  is  a 
black  man  in  America — in  a  work  which  has  some- 
thing of  the  immortality  of  the  gosi)el  itself.  They 
miirht  ^  liive  bond  in  stone'  that  his  name  should 
endure.  They  wisely  choose  t<>  commit  it  to  the 
gratitude  of  the  poor,  and  to  link  it  with  the  pro- 
gress of  the  knowledge  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
It  is  no  uncertain   trust.     Pie  shall  live,  known  or 


I 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


253 


unknown,  in  the  >vords  of  teachers,  in  the  pages  of 
books,  in  the  tuition  of  ministers,  so  long  as  this 
country  shall  have  a  ministry  for  his  Redeemer. 
Though  the  name  were  forgotten,  he  will  live  in  a 
work  which  is  for  the  eternal  word  of  God,  and  in 
the  immortal  minds  of  men,  and  through  the  genera- 
tions of  a  future  whose  end  is  not  to  be  seen. 

"  But  this  Society,  ready  and  solicitous  to  do  honor 
to  Mr.  Crozer,  accepts  this  trust,  not  for  his  sake 
more  than  for  the  good  of  the  race,  which,  from  his 
early  days,  touched  the  symiiathies  of  his  jjenerous 
soul.  As  his  sun  sinks  into  another  horizon,  theirs 
rises  in  the  east.  They  come  up  stretching  their 
hands  of  hope  northward,  and  their  life  comes  out 
of  his  grave.  So  has  Providence  timed  this  magnifi- 
cent gift  with  a  magnificent  opportunity.  Both  of 
them  ^ve  hail  with  grateful  praise  to  God.  We 
hear  in  them  the  call  of  our  Lord  to  this  Society. 
It  is  the  first  step  and  prophecy  of  a  destiny  laid 
upon  us  to  meet  and  bless  this  race  coming  up  out 
of  their  darkness  and  sorrow  after  the  light  of  Clirist. 
It  is  our  ordination  to  one  of  the  divinest  ministries 
of  our  time.  It  leads  where,  unless  faith  fail,  and 
love  to  Christ  and  his  poor  shall  die,  there  will  be 
others  to  follow.  We  a^'c  encouraged,  then,  to  take 
up  this  trust  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  imposed. 
Their   honor    for   the   head   of  their  family   is   ours 

22 


:254 


LIFE   OF  JO  US  P.  CROZKR. 


also.  Their  and  liis  purpose  of  blessing  to  the  en- 
franchised bondmen,  to  the  children  of  Africa,  is 
ours.  Trustees  ')f  n  benefit  so  ample,  so  timely,  so 
free,  we  should  count  it  our  honor  to  fulfill,  to  en- 
large it.  The  Society  will  not  hesitate  to  express 
its  feeling  in  reference  to  this  proceeding.  The 
following  resolve  is  offered : 

'^  Besoh'cdj  That  this  Society,  accepting  and  approv- 
ing, in  its  purpose  and  conditions,  the  trust  com- 
mitted to  the  I^oard  by  the  family  of  the  late  !Mr. 
John  P.  Crozer,  with  its  great  and  welcome  obliga- 
tions, also  places  upon  its  record  its  appreciation 
of  this  unusual  and  magnificent  benefaction,  and 
herebv  offer  to  ^Frs.  Crozer  and  her  children  the 
assurance  of  cordial  sympathy,  both  in  the  loss  they 
have  sustained  and  in  the  honor  they  propose  to  the 
lamented  head  of  their  familv. 

"  For  the  Committee, 

"S.  L.  Cat.dwell." 

This  useful  and  beautiful  benefaction  was  onlv  the 
becrinninfr  of  that  new  life  which  Mr.  Crozer  was 
destined  to  live  in  the  lives  of  his  children.  In 
addition  to  continuing  and  eidarging  his  annual  cha- 
rities, they  nuw  contemplated  a  measure  of  much 
larger  l)eneficence.  The  institution  of  learning  which 
had  been  established  at  great  cost   at   U})land   had 


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"*f(!yN^>^;:   i^'TT^'sf^ 


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u 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  F.  CROZER. 


255 


proved  a  disappointment  to  its  founder,  from  causes 
which  have  already  been  described.  During  the  war 
for  his  country  he  had  placed  the  building,  as  we  have 
seen,  at  the  disposal  of  the  government,  for  a  hospital, 
at  a  time  when  it  was  greatly  needed  for  the  sick  and 
wounded  of  our  patriot  soldiery.  It  was  now  occu- 
pied temporarily  by  a  military  school;  and  it  became 
a  question  for  his  children  to  determine  for  what 
purpose  this  costly  structure  should  be  permanently 
used.  About  three  months  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Crozer  a  member  of  his  family  suggested  the  idea  of 
devoting  it  to  the  i)urposes  of  theological  instruction. 
The  suggestion  Avas  received  with  favor,  and  became 
a  frequent  topic  of  conversation  in  the  household. 

Its  situation  was  suitable,  being  about  fifteen 
miles  south  of  Philadelphia,  and  Avithin  half  a  mile 
of  the  city  of  Chester,  on  the  Philadelphia  and  Bal- 
timore Railroad.  The  building,  also,  was  found  to 
be  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose.  Had  it  been 
designed  expressly  for  a  theological  school,  it  would 
hardly  have  been  diiferent.  It  was  substantially 
built  and  provided  with  all  needful  conveniences, 
having  accommodations  for  a  hundred  students,  and 
enclosing  a  neat  chapel,  large  enough  to  contain  about 
four  hundred  persons.  It  had  ample  grounds,  com- 
manding an  extended  view  of  the  Delaware,  with  its 
snowy  sails,  on  the  one  hand;  and  of  a  fertile  agricul- 


256 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


tiiral  district,  dotted  with  suburban  residences,  on 
the  0  her;  and  containing  a  fine  natural  grove,  which 
stretches  to  the  margin  of  Chester  Creek,  whose  full 
and  flowincr  waters  mark  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
place.  But,  before  reaching  a  final  decision,  it  was 
thought  best  to  deliberate  and  consult. 

"Is  a  new  seminary  needed?  Will  the  denomina- 
tion  receive  and  sustain  it  ?  Will  its  establishment 
interfere  with  the  prosperity  of  our  University  at 
Lewisburg  ?"  were  questions  that  were  often  pondered 
with  anxiety.  Mr.  Crozer  had  done  very  much  to 
establish  the  University  at  I^ewisburg;  and  his  widow 
and  children  were  unwilling  to  do  anything,  however 
good  in  itself,  that  could  possibly  affect  it  injuriously. 
As  early  as  the  middle  of  July,  186G,  and  before  the 
family  had  reached  any  decision  whatever,  one  of 
their  number  addressed  a  note  to  Dr.  J.  R.  Loomis, 
President  of  the  University  at  Lewisburg,  inquiring 
whether,  in  his  judgment,  it  would  be  wise  to  endow 
a  theological  seminary  at  Upland ;  to  transfer  theo- 
logical instruction  from  Lewisburg,  but  to  leave  witli 
the  University  all  its  present  endowment ;  and  so 
secure  to  the  State  two  strong  institutions — one  for 
the  literary,  the  other  for  the  theological,  training  of 
our  ministry.  Dr.  Loomis  replied,  that  during  the 
coming  vacation  he  would  visit  the  city  and  confer  on 
the  subject. 


:?iK*Si&'' 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


257 


In  the  following  September,  a  member  of  the 
family  visited  the  Philadelphia  Conference  of  Baptist 
Ministers,  then  in  session,  to  consult  with  them  with 
reference  to  the  propriety  of  the  proposed  movement. 
There  were  present  at  the  conference  about  fifty 
ministers.  After  a  full  consideration  of  the  matter, 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  prepared  by 
Dr.  Geo.  W.  Anderson,  were  adopted  with  perfect 
unanimity  and  great  enthusiasm  : 


"  Whei-easj  We  have  learned  that  it  is  the  desire  of 
the  Messrs.  Crozer  that  the  buildings  erected  by  the 
late  J.  P.  Crozer,  Esq.,  at  Upland,  for  a  normal 
school,  should  be  employed  in  some  way  directly  in 
the  service  of  the  Lord ;  and 

"  Whereas,  We  believe  that  the  establishment  of  a 
thorouirhlv  furnished  theological  seminary  at  that 
place  would  meet  tlie  hearty  apj)roval  of  the  brethren 
generally  in  this  and  in  neighboring  States  ;  therefore 

"  Resolvedy  That  we  approve,  and  heartily  recom- 
mend   the    appropriation    of    the   building    for    this 

purpose. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  have  a  high  appreciation  of  the 
University  at  Lewisburg,  and  desire  that  it  may  con- 
tinue permanently  in  its  present  location,  enlarging 
its  means  of  usefulness  year  by  year.  Yet  in  our 
judgment  the  time  has  come  when  its  real  prosperity 


>0    * 


R 


258 


LIFE   OF  JOHN  P.  CROZE R. 


will  be  promoted  by  transferring  the  work  of  theo- 
loo-ical  instruction  to  a  distinct  and  well-endowed 
institution  near  to  this  city ;  leaving  it  with  all  its 
present  endowment  and  apparatus  to  prosecute  its 
literary  work. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed 
to  convev  to  the  Messrs.  Crozer,  and  the  Boards  and 
Facultv  of  the  Universitv  at  Lewisburg,  our  action 
on  this  subject,  and  to  take  such  measures  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  securing  of  the  important  object 
which  we  contemplate." 

Earlv  in  the  next  week,  Dr.  Loomis  and  Prof 
Bliss  visited  the  city,  when  an  informal  meeting  of 
brethren  was  held  to  conft  r  with  them.  Dr.  Loomis 
acted  as  chairman,  and  Dr.  Boardman  as  secretary  of 
the  meeting.  After  an  intercliange  of  views,  the 
following  paper  was  unanimously  ordered  to  be  sent 

to  the  Crozer  family  : 

"  Phiijvdelphia,  gept.  20,  1866. 

"  To  INIessrs.  Samuel  A.  Crozer,  J.  Lewis  Crozer, 
Georo-e  K.  Crozer,  and  Robert  11.  C^rozer :— Dear  Bre- 
thren:  An  informal  gatheringof  a  tew  persons  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  Ba]>tist  cliurches,  was  held  at  the 
rooms  of  the  American  Ba|)tist  Publication  Society,  yes- 
terday afternoon.  The  persons  present  were,— Rev. 
Messrs.  J.  R.  Loomis,  G.  R.  Bliss,  W.  Wilder,  B. 
Griffith,  P.  S.  Henson,  J.  H.  Castle,  J.  Cooper,  G.  A. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


259 


Peltz,  K.  Brooks,  and  G.  D.  Boardman,  and  ^lessrs. 
W.  ^y.  Keen,  W.  Bucknell,  C.  B.  Keen,  and  H.  G. 
Jones. 

"  The  question  of  a  Theological  Institution  at  L^)- 
land,  especially  in  its  bearing  on  the  prosperity  of  the 
University  at  Lewisburg,  was  freely  discussed.  The 
hope  which  has  been  awakened  that  such  an  institu- 
tion may  be  established  on  a  broad  basis,  with  wner- 
ous  provision  for  all  its  wants,  animated  every  one  of 
the  comjDany  with  joy  and  gratitude.  The  brethren 
from  Lewisburg  entered  heartily  and  fully  into  the 
consultation,  and  the  following  vote  was  unanimously 
adopted  : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  express  to  the  brethren  Crozer 
our  high  gratification  at  learning  of  the  purpose  which 
they  are  contemplating,  to  establish  a  Theological 
school  at  Upland  on  the  most  munificent  basis, — our 
hope  that  this  plan  may  be  carried  out, — and  our 
gratitude  to  God  that  he  has  suggested  to  them  so 
grand  an  enterprise,  promising  incalculable  good  to 
the  Church  of  Christ. 

"  Be  assured,  dear  brethren,  that  this  vote  gives 
but  feeble  expression  to  our  feelings  in  view  of  the 
splendid  enterprise  which  God  has  inclined  you  to 
consider,  or  to  our  conviction  of  the  magnitude  and 
value  of  the  results  which  must  follow  the  endow^- 
ment  of  such  a  seat  of  theological  learning. 


I 


260 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


"  While  we  thus  commuuieate  to  you  officially  J  he 
proceedings  of  the  meeting,  we  wish  also  to  express 
personally  our  ap[)reciation  of  the  broad  Christian 
generosity  and  enterprise  which  contemplate  a  project 
so  grand  in  its  proportions  and  so  full  of  jiromise. 
We  are,  in  the  service  of  Christ,  yours  truly, 

"  J.  R.  LooMis,  Chairman. 
*'  Geo.  D.  Boardman,  Secretary/' 

At  the  above-mentioned  meeting  arrangements  were 
also  made  to  confer,  informally,  with  the  Trustees  of 
the  "  University  at  Lewisburij." 

The  way  was  now  open,  and  all  reasonable  doubts 
being  removed,  the  family  hesitated  no  longer.  On 
the  2d  of  NovemlxT  thev  iointlv  agreed  to  endow  a 
Theoloijical  Seminarv,  and  U>  call  it,  in  memory  of 
him  whose  name  they  so  justly  desired  to  perpetuate, 
"The  Crozer  TiiEoLociUAi.  Seminary." 

The  meeting  of  November  2,  186G,  at  which  this 
conclusion  was  reached,  deserves  a  passing  considera- 
tion. It  was  held  in  that  room  of  the  residence  at 
Upland  which  Mr.  Crozer  had  used  for  his  private 
office — the  room  where  he  wrote  in  his  diary,  where 
he  often  bent  in  secret  earnest  supplication,  blending 
in  one  common  prayer  the  welfare  of  his  family  and 
of  the  world.  And  now  that  prayer  is  answered. 
Around  the  table  where  he  wrote,  the  chair  at  which 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


261 


he  knelt,  his  family  are  gathered, — and  gathered  for 
the  welfare  of  the  world.  If  the  spirits  of  the  de- 
parted are  permitted  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  their 
earthly  labor,  how  joyfully  did  he  hover  over  the 
group  he  loved  so  well!  how  benignantly  did  he 
smile  upon  the  work  they  were  about  to  consummate! 
His  venerable  widow  is  seated  in  the  chair  he  used 
to  occupy;  all  her  children  are  around  her; — her  four 
sons,  Samuel,  Lewis,  George,  and  Robert;  her  three 
daughters,  Mrs.  Bucknell,  Mrs.  Griffith,  and  Emma ; 
and  her  two  sons-in-law,  Mr.  Bucknell  and  Dr.  Grif- 
fith— and  together  they  consecrate  to  the  holy  cause 
tliey  have  espoused  the  princely  sum  of  $275,000. 
This  sum  was  composed  as  follows : 
The  building  and  grounds,  valued  at  .  .  $80,000 
Cash  for  erection  of  professors^  houses       .       30,000 

Cash  for  endowment 140,000 

Cash  for  library,  by  William  Bucknell,  Esq.       25,000 


Total $275,000 

On  the  fourth  of  April,  1867,  the  Legislature  of 

Pennsylvania  conferred  upon  the  infant  seminary  a 

charter. 

The  Trustees  met  for  organization  on  the  12th  of 

June.     On  the   21st  of  the  same  month  the  Board 

resolved  u})on  the  establishment  of  four  departments 

of  instruction  : — 


2G2 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  P.  CROZER. 


263 


1.  Interpretation  of  the  Bible;  2.  Christian  The- 
ology; 3.  Church  History;  4.  Preaching  and  Pastoral 

Duties. 

The  building  and  lands  have  been  conveyed   by 
deed  to  trustees,  named  in  the  act  of  incorporation. 
The  houses  for  professors  are  in  process  of  erection. 
All  the  monev  for  the  endowment  fund  has  been  paid 
into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  and  is  now  bearing 
interest ;  and  the  purchase  of  books  from  the  library 
fund  has  already  commenced.     Some  of  the  profes- 
sorships have  already  been  filled  by  competent  men, 
and    others   will   soon   be   appointed.     Thus,  in   the 
founding  of  a  school  of  learning  for  his  native  county, 
Mr.  Crozer,  although  disappointed,  and  at  times  al- 
most disheartened,  was  yet  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
lar^i-er  enterprise  than  he  then  conceived.     Nor  was  it 
bv  accident ;  for  he  had  built  in  [)]Mvcr,  for  the  honor 
and  glory  of  his  blaster  and  the  wellarc  of  his  fellow- 
men.     His  diary,  under  date  of  August  21st,  1858, 
savs  :  "As  the  time  approaches  for  opening  my  school 
I  feel  deeply  solicitous.     I   hope  I  have  done  right, 
l)ut  sometimes  feel  that  I  may  not  have  taken  the 
wisest  measures;  yet  I  en n not  but  trust  all  will  prove 
well,  and  I  commit  all  to  imj  Lord  and  Mastei^  and  seek 
his  guidance.^'     A  life  thus  guided  will  not  often  err. 
It  is  hard  for  such  a  spirit   to  make  mistake.     An 


1 


unseen  hand  is  shaping  the  future  of  him  who  thuis 
lives  for  duty  and  for  God. 

In  the  purchase,  a  year  later,  of  the  additional 
land,  not  needed  then  for  the  school,  but  now 
so  indispensable  to  the  wants  of  the  seminary,  Mr. 
Crozer  was  also  guided  by  a  wisdom  from  above. 
His  diary,  under  date  of  October  2G,  1859,  contains 
the  passage :  "  Bought  to-day  a  tract  of  land  of 
thirty-six  acres,  near  the  school,  at  a  high  price.  I 
scarcely  know  why  I  buy  it ;  but  it  may  hereafter  be 
desirable."  Thus  providentially  was  he  guided  to  a 
result  so  important  to  the  future  of  this  noble  enter- 
prise. He  had  aimed  at  the  accomplishment  of  a  use- 
ful purpose,  and  humbly  sought  the  blessing  of 
Heaven  upon  his  effort;  but  he  little  thought  his 
prayers  would  be  answered  in  such  liberal  measure ; 
strll  less,  that  a  source  of  anxiety  and  disappoint- 
ment would  be  so  signally  transfused  into  the  crown- 
ing feature  of  his  usefulness ;  and  less  than  all,  that 
when  his  earthly  life  was  ended,  this  least  successful 
of  his  well-meant  plans  should  be  the  one  to  bear  his 
name,  and  best  perpetuate  his  memory. 

When  the  new  life  he  desired  to  live  in  the  use- 
fulness of  his  children  is  ended,  and  their  dust  is 
mingled  with  his  under  the  shadow^  of  the  funeral 
trees  which  mark  the  family  resting-place  at  Upland, 
the  work  of  his  benevolence  will  continue,  and  other 


261 


LIFE  OF  JO  IIS  P.  CROZER. 


generations,  with  men  of  other  races  and  in  distant 
lands,  will  cherish  and  adorn  his  memory.  Death  is 
but  the  blissful  consummation  of  such  a  life,  "for  I 
heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying  unto  me,  write, 
Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord,  from 
henceforth ;  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest 
from  their  labors,  and  their  icorks  do  follow  thaiu' — 
Follow  them  whither/  Whither  they  go,  nor  linger 
a  whit  behind — on  through  all  their  changes — on  and 
into — and  through — all  their  eternity. 

"  Think  ve  the  notes  of  holv  sons: 

On  Milton's  tuneful  ear  have  died  ? 
Tliiniv  ye  that  Kaphael's  angel  throng 

Has  vanished  from  his  sidef 
Oil,  no  ! — We  live  our  life  again  : 

Or  warnilv  touched,  or  coldlv  dim. 
The  pictures  of  the  past  remain — 

3Ian^8  works  shall  foll&w  himT' 


THE   END. 


COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY    LIBRARIES 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing,  as 
provided  by  the  hbrar>'  rules  or  by  special  arrangement  with 
the  Librarian  in  charge. 


DATt   BORROWED 


OATe  OUE 


DATE  BORROWED   '     DATE  DUE 


C28  ^747     M'.OO 


938  .  5 


C^86 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


0032196431 


si 


*^ 


